Answer: Yes.
Are you planning to cut ties with meat and all animal products? Going vegan can be an ideal leap of faith toward better health. Eating veggies has numerous benefits, such as keeping your gut healthy, lowering cholesterol levels, and maintaining weight.
What about Oreos? These tasty treats have been a part of our lives since childhood. You’ve been relishing them from your kindergarten days to your high school parties. So, when switching to a healthier lifestyle, you may question their position in your diet.
If you love Red Velvet Oreos, you might be facing a dilemma whether it’s vegan. This concept is indeed a bit unclear. To answer the question “Are Red Velvet Oreos vegan?” you need to dig a little deeper.
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Are Oreos Vegan?
Oreos do not have any animal-derived ingredients. So, if you’re a vegan, you can eat them without any doubt. The creamy center contains no milk, and Oreo has maintained this since its first launch.
The key ingredients include sugar, canola oil, unbleached enriched flour, flour, and cocoa. As there is no mention of milk or eggs, it’s entirely safe for vegans. However, there’s a catch.
The Oreo makers say that the biscuit is not suitable for vegans. It’s because their products contain milk as a cross-contact. So, if you have a dairy allergy, you can avoid them.
Oreo and Veganism: A Brief History
No, these terms were not always on the same page. Way back in the early 20th century, Oreo was made out of lard, pig fat. Later, in the mid-90s, the company was concerned about this animal fat ingredient’s healthiness. So, they decided not to include this anymore in their Oreo recipe.
Instead, they replaced it with vegetable oil. This oil was partially hydrogenated and contained trans-fat. Later on, the company again became worried about the health issues that trans-fat can raise.
Thus, in January 2006, the Oreo recipe was revamped, and the trans-fat was replaced with non-hydrogenated oils. But whey protein was still an ingredient that came from milk. So, it was also removed to make it completely animal-free.
Now let us come back to our original question.
Red Velvet Oreos Are Vegan: Yes or No?
By now, you would have understood that Oreos are technically vegan. They don’t have any animal-derived ingredients. So, those mouth-watering pieces of Red Velvet Oreo on your table are vegan. As mentioned earlier, they are made using cross-contact with milk.
Don’t stress too much; this doesn’t mean gallons of milk are poured while making Oreos. This only means that tiny amounts of milk may have touched your cookies. This can happen during the production process, usually from the equipment.
And the Oreo makers are completely honest about this if you have checked out their website. So, these unrecognizable drops of milk can make your Red Velvet Oreo a little less vegan.
When you savor this tasty treat, there’s a 100% chance that you wouldn’t be able to figure it out. Even after all this, there’s no guarantee that you are not consuming trace amounts of milk while enjoying Oreo.
This gives rise to the next question.
Is It Okay for a Vegan to Eat Oreos?
Yes, it’s okay to eat an Oreo cookie, even if you’re a vegan. Look at it this way – just because a product has come into contact with milk doesn’t make it dairy-based, right? So, nobody can proclaim that vegans must avoid Oreos at all costs.
You can say that this is slightly debatable. Many vegans avoid products in the supermarket which come with a “may contain” tag on them.
This means that although these products are free from animal ingredients, some amounts of them may have sneaked in during the manufacturing processes.
Some vegans may not consume these products. But that doesn’t make it a practical thing to do. It’s because veganism is not just about avoiding animal-free products. It is about avoiding animal cruelty and exploitation for manufacturing goods, clothing, or food products. So, if some products, like Red Velvet Oreos, can’t be classified as vegan, you can still have them. You can be assured that it’ll bring no harm to your vegan identity.
Oreo and Palm Oil
No matter whether you’re a vegan or not, there is another ingredient you must be worried about instead of milk traces. This is the controversial palm oil used for making Oreos and other bakery items. Palm oil is made unsustainable and has harmful impacts on the environment.
Palm oil has become notorious as companies are clearing large forest areas for its plantation. This is primarily happening in many developing countries, such as Indonesia. Extensive rainforests are being cleared to make space for palm oil cultivation.
This results in deforestation, which in turn is causing a menace to many species of animals. As these rainforests are home to endangered animals like the Bornean orangutan, the situation is wreaking havoc on their lives. Palm oil is considered the main culprit behind the destruction of Indonesian rainforests.
Palm oil is also related to climate change. As they have caused so much tropical deforestation, it has led to more greenhouse gases. Thus, Mondelez International, which makes Oreo in the UK, are determined to change its practices.
They once reached out to their customers on Twitter, claiming they have implemented some sustainable strategies. The company claimed that they are committed to using palm oil using environment-friendly practices.
Rumors About Sugar in Oreos
There is some gossip all over the biscuit market that the sugar used in Oreos is not-so-vegan. Rumors suggest that the sugar in your Oreo cookies is made of bone char. This is a blackened granular material derived from animal bones.
Here’s the connection between bone char and sugar. You may know that refined sugar is extracted from sugarcane. So, you can call it vegan. But some manufacturers use bone char to refine and bleach this sugar. That doesn’t sound so vegan after all, does it?
All these speculations might cause some vegans to back away from Oreos. But if your love for Oreos is true, you won’t give up on it.
Other Vegan Oreo Options
Now that you’ve wrapped your head around Red Velvet Oreos and their veganism let’s check out the other delicious vegan Oreos.
Classic Oreo
The classic Oreo sandwich crèmes are the most popular vegan Oreo on earth. It is made with real cocoa, having a rich and creamy center-filled vanilla – the perfect combination of crunch and cream, this one’s made of 100 % vegan ingredients.
These ingredients include wheat flour, canola oil, sugar, salt, corn syrup, and baking soda. Other vegan components consist of salt, soy lecithin, and a lot of goodness!
Golden Oreo
This one’s another firm favorite among vegans who love lots of vanilla. The evergreen Golden Oreo cookies come with extra vanilla cream along with added crunch. This is so good that people from all age groups relish it.
Its ingredients are almost the same as the Classic Oreo cookies. So, don’t worry, and start munching on them!
Cinnamon Bun Oreo
Made with natural ingredients such as corn syrup and soy lecithin, the Cinnamon Bun Oreo is a lip-smacking option. It comes with natural flavoring and the classic Cinnamon Bun taste. Plus, it’s creamy, chunky, and a little spicy.
So, if you’re looking to surprise and excite your taste buds, just go for it.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Sandwich Oreo
Who doesn’t love the taste of chocolate and peanut butter pie? If you’re down for that, you must try the Oreo Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Sandwich Cookies.
Are Other Oreo Products Vegan Too?
Over the years, Oreo has launched many other scrumptious products such as ice creams, cereals, birthday cakes, and chocolate bars. They’ve been in many popular tie-ups, such as Cadbury Dairy Milk Oreo Bites.
You might have guessed that you can’t call these products vegan. For example, Oreo ice creams and instant hot chocolate drinks are made with milk. So, sadly, these products don’t attract many vegans.
Thus, you have to understand although the classic Oreo is dairy-free and vegan, not everything is. If you are a vegan, don’t blindly buy something because the label says “Oreo.”
Final Verdict
By now, you would’ve received the answer to your question, “Are Red Velvet Oreos vegan?” whether or not to eat it is ultimately your call. The decision depends upon how much you’re into veganism.
For those of you who are interested only in basic veganism, then yes, these Oreo cookies are indeed vegan. They are free from any animal-based ingredients.
If you strictly want to avoid all traces of animal products, including microscopic traces of milk in Oreos, it’s a no-no. It’s up to you. A better approach will be being a little flexible and including this tasty treat in your diet.