Lucky charms are not vegan since, according to the ingredients list Diana B shared, they contain gelatin. Gelatin is derived from the hooves of cows; thus, it is an animal product. Vegans do not consume any animal products, which include dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, cream), meat, seafood, poultry, or honey. However, I do not think about what I am "missing" because there are so many other amazing foods out there - vegetables of every size, shape, color, and flavor, whole grains, beans, lentils, sumptuous fruits, nuts, seeds, spices from all over the world, and much more!
I agree with Diana that if it's important to you to maintain a vegan diet, it's important to educate yourself about common ingredients to watch out for and then always read the ingredients label. Lots of products have animal-derived ingredients that wouldn't be obvious without reading the label. Here's a good list of animal ingredients to look out for: http://www.happycow.net/health-animal-ingredients.html
To answer your specific question, no, Lucky Charms are not vegan. Marshmallows contain gelatin, which is made from collagen extracted from the skin, bones, and connective tissues of various animals. There may be other ingredients in Lucky Charms that also are not vegan, but gelatin is the one that immediately jumped out at me.
If you're a vegan, you need to first fully understand what it is, so you can know if it's actually the decision you want to make. I recommend checking out www.vegan.org - it's a valuable site with a lot of information and resources.
There are many great reasons to be a vegan, but I believe that far too many people partake in being a vegan because it's "hip" or "trendy," or even healthier than a omnivore's diet. These are bad reasons to make any decision in your life, especially a three-time-a-day decision about what you put in your body.
Do some reading, find out if it's something you believe in (from an animal rights standpoint, or a health standpoint), and then you'll be fine with whatever you do.
I'm not vegan, but it seems to me that anyone interested in becoming a vegan should be learning what food and food ingredients are permitted in a vegan diet. I'm sure there are many websites out there that would help you do this. Then you just need to read product labels, which in the U.S. would be enough to make anybody turn to a vegan diet!
Here's what the label for Lucky Charms says on the ingredient label:
Lucky Charms (Oats, (Whole Grain Oats, Flour), Marshmallows (Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Corn Syrup, Dextrose, Gelatin, Calcium Carbonate, Yellow 5 & 6, Blue 1, Red 40), Artificial Flavor, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Artificial Color, Trisodium Phosphate, Zinc And Iron (Mineral Nutrients), Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbic), A "B" Vitamin (Niacinamide), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1, Thiamin Mononitrate), Vitamin A, (Palmitate), A B Vitamin (Folic Acid) Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols) Added To Preserve Freshness.)
I'm not sure why anyone would want to eat anything that contains that much sugar and artificial coloring...
14 Comments
Just sayin'.
Voted the Best Reply!
To answer your specific question, no, Lucky Charms are not vegan. Marshmallows contain gelatin, which is made from collagen extracted from the skin, bones, and connective tissues of various animals. There may be other ingredients in Lucky Charms that also are not vegan, but gelatin is the one that immediately jumped out at me.
If you're a vegan, you need to first fully understand what it is, so you can know if it's actually the decision you want to make. I recommend checking out www.vegan.org - it's a valuable site with a lot of information and resources.
There are many great reasons to be a vegan, but I believe that far too many people partake in being a vegan because it's "hip" or "trendy," or even healthier than a omnivore's diet. These are bad reasons to make any decision in your life, especially a three-time-a-day decision about what you put in your body.
Do some reading, find out if it's something you believe in (from an animal rights standpoint, or a health standpoint), and then you'll be fine with whatever you do.
Here's what the label for Lucky Charms says on the ingredient label:
Lucky Charms (Oats, (Whole Grain Oats, Flour), Marshmallows (Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Corn Syrup, Dextrose, Gelatin, Calcium Carbonate, Yellow 5 & 6, Blue 1, Red 40), Artificial Flavor, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Artificial Color, Trisodium Phosphate, Zinc And Iron (Mineral Nutrients), Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbic), A "B" Vitamin (Niacinamide), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1, Thiamin Mononitrate), Vitamin A, (Palmitate), A B Vitamin (Folic Acid) Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols) Added To Preserve Freshness.)
I'm not sure why anyone would want to eat anything that contains that much sugar and artificial coloring...