Is Soda Vegan-Friendly? What Sodas are Vegan?

What’s the perfect beverage to complement a yummy dishes like vegan lasagna or Mexican dishes like zucchini on a lazy Sunday? Most of you might agree with the unanimous favorite drink – soda. Nothing completes a meal better than this sweet frizzy beverage that tastes absolutely refreshing and triggers that instant feel-good emotion within.

However, if you are, or have recently started following a vegan diet, you might be a bit concerned about can vegans drink soda and is soda vegan. So here we reveal to you the vegan and not-so-vegan soda drinks.

About Sodas

There are varieties of sodas available in the market and some most common ones are Coca Cola, Sprite, Pepsi, 7up, and many more. These soda comes with different sweeteners, coloring and many more that makes them tasty. But, are they vegan.

Vegan Soda Ingredients

Note that even though these sodas are vegan in nature, they aren’t necessarily healthy. These are ingredients that are included in carbonated water or soda:

Non-Vegan Ingredients in Sodas

Now coming to the ingredients which aren’t vegan-friendly and may not be suitable in case you are or have decided to go completely vegan:

• Ester Gum – Comprising glycerol, which is believed to be derived from animal products or animal-derived products, this may be present in some sodas therefore making them non-vegan.
• Cochineal – Also popularly known as carmine or carminic acid, it’s derived from female cochineal insects or their eggs. It’s therefore 100% non-vegan in nature.
• Vitamin D3 – Derived from fish oil or lanolin (wax obtained from the wool of sheep).
• Honey – Made by bees for themselves, honey, unlike popular belief, isn’t quite suitable for vegan humans.

Which Sodas Are Vegan?

Now that we’ve understood in detail into what ingredients does and doesn’t go into the manufacture of fizzy sodas we so lovingly drink in summer (or any season for that matter). We did a detailed analysis and found that Sprite, Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper, Monster Energy, Red Bull, are some of the vegan- friendly sodas available in market.

It’s worth noting that some sodas may contain artificial colors or flavors that are not vegan-friendly. Additionally, some sodas may be produced using animal-derived processing aids or contain sugar that is not vegan. Therefore, it is always a good idea to check the ingredient list before consuming any soda.

Drinks That Aren’t Vegan

Here’s a peek into the non-vegan versions of major soft and hard drinks

• Guinness Beer – Its production involves the use of isinglass made from a fish’s swim bladders
• Barefoot Wine – Gelatin, made from bone and can also include the hooves of cows and pigs, is used in the wine-making process, along with proteins from animal products or fish products, and milk or eggs too.
• Sunkist Orange Soda – Ester gum is the main ingredient
• Tropicana Heart Healthy Orange Juice – Comprises fish oil and fish gelatin, such as tilapia, sardine, and anchovies
• Minute Maid Ruby Red Grapefruit – The ruby red color of the drink comes from cochineal

Conclusion

while soda itself may not contain animal products, the use of certain ingredients in its production process may raise questions about its vegan status. Some sodas may contain additives like refined sugars, which may be processed using bone char, a product made from animal bones.

Sodas are not the only one popular candies like Welch’s Fruit Snacks, Mike and Ikes, Salt Water Taffy, Skittles might use sugar processed from bone char which arises a major question on their vegan status.

Therefore, it’s important to carefully read ingredient labels and research the production methods of the brands of food products that you consume if you follow a vegan lifestyle.