What comes to mind when you hear “Milk’s Favourite Cookie”? Oreos, right? Since its launch in 1912, in the United States, many people have come to love the number one, best-selling cookie. In fact, it has found its way onto many vegan lists of diet. But does that necessarily mean that they are vegan? There have been controversial statements between those that favour this delicious cookie as being vegan and those that think otherwise. This leaves most people at crossroads when deciding whether to include Oreos in their vegan list, or not.

Are They Truly Vegan?

The real question is this, “What makes a product vegan?” Is it the fact that it contains no traces of animal products? Or the fact that manufacturing companies take animal protection into consideration when producing food products? That a product contains minimal amounts of animal-derived ingredients, like monoglycerides, does not make it vegan.

To begin with, we need to take a look at the ingredients found in Oreo cookies to understand better where they stand in the vegan/non-vegan contest.

List Of Ingredients

The following ingredients make up the tasty and delicious Oreo cookies you find on the shelves of several shopping malls or convenience stores:

• Cocoa
• Unbleached enriched flour
• Palm and/or canola oil
• Sugar
• Corn starch
• Leavening
• High fructose corn syrup
• Unsweetened chocolate
• Soy lecithin
• Salt

There are no animal-sourced ingredients found on this list. Does that make it safe for vegans to consume? To a great extent, yes!

How About Milk?

According to the information found on the FAQ page of the Oreo Company’s website, “Oreos have milk as cross-contact and therefore are not suitable for vegans.” Despite not being made with animal products, they are not totally vegan-friendly, as the factories that produce them deal with milk.

What is Cross-Contact?

Cross-contact occurs when one food combines with another food (or more) and the proteins mix proportionally resulting in each food contain tiny amounts of the other food. As minute and negligible as these amounts are, they are serious but not life-threatening to individuals who are allergic to certain food. Interestingly, even when prepared thoroughly, traces of other food will still be found.

Not all vegans find cross-contact products with little traces of milk contradictory to the principles of veganism. On the other hand, those at the higher end of the plant-based spectrum exclude Oreo cookies from their diet list, as they have a strong stance against products not only produced from animals but also produced by animals, an example being butter and milk. Interestingly, the market is being flooded with tons of tasty vegan-friendly cookies that provide ideal alternatives to the likes of Oreos.

Promoting a plant-based lifestyle does not stop you from treating yourself to delicious cookies once in a while. Isome vegan-friendly biscuits and cookies you can enjoy include Huntley & Palmer’s Biscuit, Tesco Free From Ginger Nut Biscuits, Against The Grain Cookies, and Nairn’s Oats and Stem Ginger Biscuit Breaks. Interestingly, many vegan-based cookies and biscuits are easy to make at home. You only need the right ingredients, some of which include Baking powder, rolled oats, cornflakes, vegan-friendly cocoa powder, and maple syrup.

You will find baking home-made, vegan cookies fun, as there are several options available for you to try out, including the use of dates, ginger, chopped nuts or seeds, peanut butter, raisins, cinnamon, vegan chocolate chips, and literally any other mouth-watering ingredient to add more beauty and taste. Besides, you don’t have to deal with preservatives or additives, which makes it very healthy for consumption. Enjoy the tasty goodness and freshness vegan cookies and biscuits offer while promoting a healthy vegan lifestyle.

Can I Consume Oreos As A Vegan?

There is no mention of Oreos containing milk or any other animal product. However, since the company processes milk as well, what assurance do you have that their pieces of equipment and cookies do not have traces of milk? And even if they do, does that make Oreos entirely non-vegan?

PETA’s Stance On Certain Products

Here is what PETA (world’s renowned animal rights organization) has to say about such situations: “Some packaged foods have a long list of ingredients. The farther an ingredient is down the list, the less of that ingredient is in the food. People who have made the compassionate decision to stop eating animal flesh, eggs, and dairy products may wonder if they need to read every ingredient to check for tiny amounts of obscure animal products.

Our general advice is not to worry too much about doing this. The goal of being vegan is to help animals and reduce suffering. This is done by choosing a bean burrito or a veggie burger over chicken flesh or choosing tofu scramble over eggs, not by refusing to eat an otherwise vegan food because it has 0.001 grams of monoglycerides that may possibly be animal-derived.”

Other Facts About Oreos

Are US-made Oreo cookies Vegan-friendly? Many vegans ask this question from time to time. While food companies with locations in multiple countries may produce the same product differently depending on cost and the availability of raw products (ingredients), there is no confirmation or evidence to back the claim that Oreo cookies produced in the US are vegan. This cookie company has maintained its production process for decades and there’s no sign that their products will be vegan. Before the mid-1990s, Oreo fillings had lard as a key ingredient, after which the company replaced it with vegetable oil following several health complaints.

Conclusion

Oreos are great delicacies. However, bear in mind that part of their ingredients includes palm oil, which despite being an edible vegetable oil, has a high saturated fat content and has partly contributed to the degradation of forests and wildlife. Palm trees have taken the place of rainforests in many parts of the world, driving away wild animals like orangutans from their natural habitat.

If you are an environmentalist, then this will bother you greatly. For more details about it you can go to The Sustainable Harvest to learn more inputs related to the plant-based diets. This is not to state that you can not consume Oreos but ensure that you are okay with it.