Category: Ethical consumption

According to ingredients lists from various global markets, many Kit Kat products explicitly list palm oil and/or palm kernel oil as a key component. This common vegetable oil is prized by manufacturers for its functional properties but has led to significant environmental and ethical concerns.

Over 1.5 million children are involved in hazardous work on West African cocoa farms, and this is just one of many facets highlighting the profound ethical concerns of dairy chocolate. This industry, from the source of its cocoa to the dairy farms, is entangled in complex issues that consumers are increasingly becoming aware of.

While Halal certification ensures animals are slaughtered according to Islamic law, many modern consumers also prioritize the principle of 'Tayyib,' which mandates food is pure and wholesome, free from harmful additives like hormones.

According to a 2024 survey, over half of consumers are interested in ethical consumption, with food as a primary concern. Understanding **how to know if food is ethical** requires looking beyond marketing claims to evaluate a product’s entire journey from origin to your plate.

Most people assume that because sugar comes from plants, it must be vegan, but that isn't always the case. While the sugarcane plant itself is vegan, the refining process for white, granulated cane sugar often involves animal-derived bone char.

According to The Vegan Society, honey is not vegan because it is made by bees for bees, and harvesting it for human consumption constitutes exploitation. While there is no such thing as *traditional* honey that is vegan, the market now offers a variety of ethical and delicious alternatives for those seeking a bee-free sweetener.

While refined cane sugar in the United States is often filtered using bone char, sugar derived from beets is never processed with this animal-derived product. For those wondering what sugar is not processed with bone char, this fact is a crucial starting point for identifying vegan and cruelty-free sweeteners.

According to a study published in *Science*, 75% of honey samples collected worldwide were found to be contaminated with at least one pesticide. While many view honey as a natural and harmless sweetener, for some, the practice of consuming it is fraught with ethical, health, and environmental concerns.

It is estimated that around 90% of sweet biscuits in the UK contain palm oil, often concealed under generic terms like 'vegetable oil'. Finding out what biscuits don't have palm oil can be challenging, but a growing number of brands are offering ethical and eco-friendly alternatives.

While many assume all wine made from grapes is vegan, a surprising number contain animal byproducts. Prosecco can be vegan by avoiding animal-derived fining agents used during clarification, a process that removes cloudiness to create a visually appealing wine.