Is Coca-Cola vegan?

If one asks about a company that has changed the beverage world forever then we think about Coca-Cola. Though it’s under scrutiny for the amount of sugar they are using but no one can deny it does taste better than others. It’s widely popular with people no matter whether they are vegan or not. But is it suitable for vegans?

Well, we did some research regarding this and want you to come along in this journey of finding the truth about Coca-Cola. Let’s find, if coke vegan or not?

Is Coca-Cola vegan? 

First and foremost we need to research the ingredients. If the ingredients are not animal-derived then it’s vegan. A significant amount of sugar and caffeine makes Coca-Cola. That’s why it gives energy after drinking it. It comes with more bad than good, to be honest, but still, we cannot stop drinking it. Here is the complete ingredients list of Coca-Cola that will make clear if it’s vegan or not.

• Carbonated water
• Sugar (high fructose corn syrup)
• Caramel color
• Caffeine
• Phosphoric acid
• natural flavorings

All these ingredients are suitable for vegans as none of these are derived from an animal. But some of the drinks from the company do contain animal derivatives. You must know about the products as you may or may not indulge in those sometimes. Here are they

• Lilt
• Lilt zero
• GLACEU vitamin water zero sunshine and multi V
• honest (lemon and honey)
• Schweppes Orange Squash

All the above drinks contain a small amount of fish gelatin sometimes for working as a stabilizer for beta-carotene color. And we all know that the honest drink is not vegan as it contains honey. Also, the GLACEU vitamin water has vitamin D in it that is sourced from the lanoline that comes from sheep’s wool.

Are diet coke and zero sugar coke vegan?

All the beverages under the umbrella of Coca-Cola that are zero sugar, diet coke, and classic are suitable for vegans. We do not know about the future additions yet but till now you can enjoy these beverages tension-free. Here are the ingredients of diet coke

• carbonated water
• sweetener with aspartame and acesulfame k
• caffeine
• caramel color
• citric and phosphoric acid

As you can see diet coke does not contain any dairy, gelatin product, or lanolin that are animal derivatives. The nutrition benefits of diet coke are zero fat, zero carbs, zero salts, and zero protein. As a vegan, you can enjoy diet coke without hesitation from now.

What are my other options for vegan sodas?

If Coca-Cola and diet coke was the only option for vegans then the world would be tasteless. You will be pleased to know that there are several vegan sodas available that are vegan. And here they are,

• Pepsi
• Diet Pepsi
• Seven-up
• Lipton ice tea
• Mountain dew
• Coke
• Diet coke
• Red bull

You see Blue sky sodas in health food stores that are not vegan. They use cow bone-char refined sugar as sweeteners. But the people related to the production of this beverage claim that the organic version of this soda does not contain cow bone-char refined sugar.

What are the ingredients that make a soda non-vegan?

If you know the ingredients well and carefully read all ingredients of whatever you are buying you will be safe. Cochineal or carmine that is used as a dye, lanoline, or glycerol used as a stabilizer and cow bone char as refined sugar all these are the reason for a soda to not be vegan friendly. So read ingredients carefully and live by your vegan values.

Finally,

There are so many beverages in the market that claim to be healthy but contain so many unhealthy ingredients. The same can happen with vegan-friendly sodas. So always read the labels before buying to be sure. It’s important that you keep doing your research and then make a decision.

It will be a completely different world where there is no animal product in the food. And together we can contribute to this with baby steps.