Cane sugar

[Guest guest]

That is a good question. During the final purification process, cane sugar is

filtered through activated carbon (charcoal) which may be of animal, vegetable,

or mineral origin. Over half of the cane refineries in the United States use

bone char as their activated carbon source. (charcoal made from animal bones &

I don't want to benefit from any animal's grief.) And it is never labeled as

such on the package. C & H Cane sugar does use bone char. Beet sugar doesn't

undergo this process so vegans will use this, but finding it labeled as beet

sugar can be problematic in many areas. Brown sugar is simply white sugar with

molasses added back and so will have gone through the charcoal process. Powdered

sugar is simply white sugar pulverized and so is also subject to the charcoal

thing. I don't use honey either as bees are not treated as anything more than a

commodity...the honey that they make is stolen from their hives and they have

made that as their food and it is replaced with a substandard food. Plus farmers

are now frequently burning their hives at the end of the season killing all of

the bees to prevent disease. I use Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Sucanat by

Wholesome, and their Organic Dark Brown Sugar, and organic maple syrup. I also

use Mirin occasionally. Oh, Sucanat just stands for Sugar Cane Natural SuCaNat.

I buy organic as most sugar plantations employ environmentally unsound

agricultural methods, such as heavy insecticide and pesticide use and crop

burning, which negatively impact soil, air, water. This doesn't even take into

account the abuses that the workers on the plantations are put through. Other

sources of vegan sugar are raw, turbinado, date sugar, fructose, barley malt,

rice syrup, corn syrup, molasses. Most have their own problems, but sugar is

sugar, all carbohydrates, but some of them do take longer to go through your

system a tad bit slower. I don't use corn syrup for sure. Each has its own

function and will work well in different situation. Even the white potato

converts to glucose faster than table sugar. Strange isn't it?

linda

 

" Whatever you do will be insignificant and it is very important that you do

it. "

Mohandas Gandhi

 

linda's Growing Stitchery Projects: womyn47

-

Dove

 

 

Linda,

I also have a question. Why wouldn't a vegan eat cane sugar? Isn't it just a

plant like agave? We use agave nectar and stevia as sweeteners (trying to get

away from the chemical Sweet N Low) and be diabetic friendly.

 

Thanks,

Colleen

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

WOW I had never heard that the " charcoal " process used animal bones!!!!! What

an eye opener your email was for me.

Thanks

Colleen