One of the most popular sugary breakfast cereals, Frosted Flakes is probably your favorite too. But are Frosted Flakes vegan?
Certain unfamiliar ingredients in Frosted Flakes have aroused our suspicion. You won’t find any problematic ingredients at a first glance, but deeper research will reveal obvious non-vegan ingredients in Frosted Flakes.
This widely loved breakfast cereal is fundamentally made out of corn with additional frosting. The list of ingredients doesn’t have obvious non-vegan substances like meat, eggs, or dairy products. We’ll take you through each variety of Frosted Flakes so that you are intimate with their formation.
None of the Frosted Flakes are vegan
Frosted Flakes come in five different varieties and you may well be in admiration of all of them. While all of them have the same fundamental set of ingredients, there are different fishy non-vegan additives in all.
The Cinnamon Frosted Flakes contain processed sugar and Vitamin D3.
While processed sugar is a problematic ingredient that may or may not be vegan, Vitamin D3 in Frosted Flakes is a definite non-vegan ingredient.
The Frosted Flakes with Chocolate & Marshmallows are perfectly non-vegan
As expected, Frosted Flakes with Chocolate & Marshmallows contain one problematic and two definite non-vegan ingredients. The problematic ingredient is processed sugar. The non-vegan ingredients are Vitamin D3 and gelatin.
The Chocolate Frosted Flakes are not vegan
Like all other varieties, Chocolate Frosted Flakes contain processed sugar and Vitamin D3. Vegans should always avoid substances like Vitamin D3 obtained from animals. Stricter vegans choose to avoid even processed sugar.
The Honey Nut Frosted Flakes contain honey.
Along with the obvious non-vegan ingredient Vitamin D3, Honey Nut Frosted Flakes also contains honey. Many vegans choose to exclude honey from their diet. Another problematic ingredient is processed sugar.
The Frosted Flakes with marshmallows contain gelatin
Gelatin is a non-vegan ingredient that isn’t acceptable by any standard in vegan diets. Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows contain gelatin, Vitamin D3, and processed sugar.
How are the above-mentioned ingredients non-vegan?
Unlike your expectations, the simpler ingredients in Frosted Flakes like niacinamide or BHT are not the ones in question. The ingredients in question are Vitamin D3, processed sugar, honey, and gelatin. Contrary to some misguided beliefs, Frosted Flakes do not contain dairy products.
Vitamin D3 is not vegan
This shouldn’t surprise you, the commonly used substance for cereal fortification is derived from animal-based sources. Vitamin D3 is obtained from lanolin which is in turn obtained from sheep’s wool.
Plant-based sources of Vitamin D3 exist. It is sad how many manufacturers still depend on animal-based sources for the product.
Lanolin is the grease that is created in sheep’s wool. The producers of this substance skin live sheep for their wool. Some producers claim to obtain their wool without hurting the sheep but we never know how it is done.
Most probably, many innocent sheep have to suffer for the Vitamin D3 fortification of breakfast cereals.
Honey is not vegan
Many vegans choose to consume honey anyway but that doesn’t mean it is vegan. Honey is obtained from beehives and it directly affects the resident bees.
There are very few vegan beekeepers that sustainably collect honey. Most beekeepers exploit the hard work of these poor insects and leave them to survive on sugar substitutes that don’t meet their requirements. Sugar substitutes lack all the nutrients bees require from honey.
In some cases, the hives are violently destroyed and many bees are directly killed in the process of obtaining their produce. The capitalist industry surrounding honey measures success by the amount of honey produced/collected and no consideration is given to the bees that produce honey for themselves in the first place.
It is fairly common to see bees being bred in artificially and tactically placed hives to increase production. Many environmentalists worry that such continuous breeding within the same community of bees has led to a reduction in the width of their gene pool. This means, the bees’ susceptibility to diseases is increased and there is more chance of the spread of rare bee diseases from imported bee varieties.
These factors result in large scale die-offs of bees. Bees inevitably die in the process of obtaining and extracting honey. As bees are animals and this is animal exploitation, vegans should not include honey in their diet.
Gelatin is one of the cruelest non-vegan products that exist
Gelatin is a substance obtained by boiling animals bones, skins, tendons, and ligaments in water. Animals like cows, pigs, and fishes are mercilessly killed in the process. The marshmallow containing varieties of Frosted Flakes contain gelatin.
Gelatin is added in foods to provide them a soft and chewy texture. Although vegan substitutes like pectin exist, many producers continue to employ gelatin in their produce.
It is important that vegans collectively denounce products like gelatin and urge producers to use more sustainable and vegan ingredients.
Processed sugar is a problematic ingredient
Most sugar producing factories in the United States use a substance called bone char for refining and filtering their cane sugar. Bone char is obtained by burning the bones of cattle at very high temperatures in combustion chambers. The resultant black powder is highly absorptive and is capable of turning originally brown cane sugar into pristine white table sugar.
This is what vegans are concerned about. The vegan community discourages the use of bone char in the process of obtaining sugar and strict vegans denounce sugar altogether.
However, not all sugar factories employ bone char. Many companies instead use a vegan alternative known as granular activated charcoal. Granular activated charcoal turns brown sugar into white without any involvement of bone char.
Some companies also derive sugar from beet, while others produce sugar from coconut. Thus, all sugar is not filtered with bone char.
It is equally possible for your food to contain vegan sugar.
So are Frosted Flakes vegan?
Frosted Flakes are not even close to veganism. With ingredients like Vitamin D3, honey, and gelatin, Frosted Flakes are not the ideal breakfast for vegans. You might want to consider other vegan cereal options to suit both your energy and taste requirements.
Start your day guilt-free with these vegan breakfast cereals
ELAN Paleo Dark Chocolate Granola Cereal
This delicious and vegan breakfast cereal is made with nuts, seeds, and cacao beans. The exquisite flavor is a unique mixture of coconut in combination with chocolate freshly made out of cacao beans. All ingredients are natural. The best part is, EVAN Paleo Dark Chocolate Granola Cereal is sugar-free and certified GMO and soy-free.
Reese’s Puffs Breakfast Cereal
Reese’s Puffs Breakfast cereal is made of Reese’s special peanut butter and Hershey’s cocoa. This healthy and mouth-watering breakfast cereal will certainly top your menu with its perfect carbohydrate and fat content and low fructose syrup content. The sugar content is not high unlike most sweet cereals and the taste will blow your mind.
Kashi Breakfast Cereal, Cinnamon Harvest
Made fundamentally out of baked organic whole wheat, Kashi breakfast cereal has all-natural and plant-based ingredients. Its sweet taste is the result of organic cane sugar and the cereal contains a subtle cinnamon flavor.
If you are a lover of nutritious diet foods, you’d be amazed to learn that Kashi breakfast cereal has low fat, fewer calories, and moderate amounts of proteins and carbohydrates.
Lark Ellen Farm Grain-Free Paleo Granola Bites
This is another boon if health comes first for you. Lark Ellen Farm Grain Free Granola Bites host an irreplaceable combination of cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla, seeds, and nuts. This healthy breakfast cereal is free of gluten, dairy, and grain and the carbohydrate content is quite low for an ideal healthy morning meal.
As an added advantage, this cereal does not contain any preservatives. It has been adequately dehydrated to render an unmatched crunchiness.
Earnest Eats Vegan Hot Cereal with Superfood Grains, Quinoa, Oats, and Amarnath
The main ingredients in this absolutely healthy and mouth-watering breakfast cereal are grains, oats, quinoa, and amaranth. The never before the unmatchable taste is the perfect combination of natural cocoa, cashew, and papaya extracts. The calorie content is low and fruit-based essential nutrients content is high.
Barbara’s Bakery Puffins Cereal, Peanut Butter
The breakthrough for this excellent breakfast cereal is its zero trans-fat content. The fundamental ingredient is a combination of corn and peanut butter. This cereal contains only 6 grams of sugar per serving and there are no artificial flavors.
Erin Baker’s Homestyle Granola
This fantastic breakfast cereal is a perfect blend of vanilla, almond, and quinoa with close to zero gluten content. There are no artificial flavors and the ingredients are all-natural and freshly baked. There is an adequate amount of nutrients, protein, and fiber in each serving. The company utilizes a significant portion of the purchase to help the kids in need.
While choosing the perfect vegan breakfast cereal for yourself, also keep in mind the whole grain content, fiber and protein content, sugar and fat content, flavors, and be on a lookout for problematic ingredients. Start your morning with a perfect combination of health, nutrition, taste, and of course veganism.
