Vegan Soy Milk
Posted by stride4unity on Dec 12, 2006 · Member since Feb 2005 · 211 posts
Will someone be able to help me figure out how to tell which brands of soy milk are suitable for vegans in the sense that they don't contain any vitamins derived from animals? I heard that 8th Continent Soy Milk had an animal-derived vitamin but when I looked at the back, it contained the same vitamins (including Vitamin-B12 and D2) that Silk Soy Milk has. My local grocer carries a soy milk brand that is cheaper than Whitewave's Silk, and I would like to buy this generic brand to save $$, but I don't want it if it isn't vegan.
If I remember correctly, it's the sourcing of the Vitamin D that is the sticking point.
I googled around for "soy milk" and "not vegan" and found people complaining only about the one brand, but I imagine it's a potential pitfall anywhere where cost is an object. Generic brands are sometimes top notch quality but sometimes cost-cut; I recommend contacting the company. While you're at it, write to 8th Continent and ask them to find vegan sources for their vitamins... they don't know how much of their market they're alienating, I'm sure, and their soy milk is really tasty, darn it. I wrote to them today!
http://consumercontacts.generalmills.com/ConsolidatedContact.aspx?page=http://www.8thContinent.com
Of course, they're General Mills. That might make them a hard behemoth to move. ???
Here's my note (under "recipe" in their feedback form):
Edensoy, Soy Dream, WestSoy, Silk, and (as of recent recipe changes) all the Trader Joe's brands are vegan, and I'm sure 98% of the "milks" out there these days are as well. (They had a Strawberry flavor for a while that had Cochineal, in it., but I believe it's been switched.) I think 8th Continent is the only one that's still got the sheep-derived D. Though perhaps it's been changed by now, I'm not sure. Anyway, look for Cyanocobalamin as your source of B12, and for Vitamin D2, ergocalciferol, as your Vitamin D source. I just realized as I was typing this, that my Trader Joe's Multivitamin uses D3, cholecalciferol... darn it. I haven't been vegan long enough to be really picky about all my vitamin sources yet, but I swore that they said they used non animal sources for their vitamins, so I'll have to send them a nasty-gram.
I think a lot of the times, the generic store brand Soy is made by the same people as Silk; at least, the cartons are nearly identical in a lot of cases. But of course, you'd have to call their customer service to double check.
8th Continent must have changed their ingredients, because they used to list Vitamin D3--animal derived Vitamin D. I'm happy to hear that they're getting Vitamin D from plant sources now! (: That's excellent.
I'm not sure of other ingredients to look out for when searching for a new soy milk, as far as I've discovered Vitamin D2 is the only animal derived ingredient used in them, if used at all. You might want to take a list of animal ingredients with you, or copy down the ingredients listed on your grocer's soy milk brand and check them at home. If you have an iPod there's an easy way to have the list with you at all times-- http://thirty5.org/ipod/ --this site has a great animal ingredients zip file you can load onto your iPod.
Duckalucky: That little note you wrote to 8th Continent was very nicely done. Bravo!
"They had a Strawberry flavor for a while that had Cochineal, in it., but I believe it's been switched."
That is just so gross.
I think this is one of those things that is hard to know. I had called Uncle Ben's once to ask if their Wild Rice was vegetarian. They said sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't; because of pricing, they change vendors all the time so it depends where they get things. I think this is probably true of most companies. That is, unless they explicitly claim to be vegan, they may or may not be. Also, I find that a lot of people you talk to assume, so when you call they give an answer thinking they're correct, but not really sure. (Like when you are in a restaurant and you ask if the soup is made with chicken broth and the server says "Absolutely not". That's always a red flag for me).
I think the best we can do is to put continuous pressure on companies to disclose information. I also think Duckalucky's note is great.
What amazes me is that they relabel precisely when the cost of vegan sources are low enough to use them... doesn't changing the label cost more than the fraction of a cent for nutritional additives?
Thanks for the kind words about my note-- for a disorganized, unresearched plea, it sort of gets across the gist, huh? ;)
About beetle juice: I stopped drinking Snapple utterly when I found out it contained cochineal. Very upsetting-- not because I'm vegan (I'm still ovo-lacto veg) but because I found it icky!
Good news!
Hey, that IS good news... I'm still not sure how I feel about 8th Continent in general, because they're one of the only "milks" that isn't organic, and I'm not sure if I'm cool with that. (Most of my regular produce isn't organic, so I can hardly get too food-snobby; but somehow soy milk and tofu are sticking points for me. Those should be organic. :P) But being as I have recently made the switch from parent-funded to "poor and self-responsible college vegan," I can see maybe not feeling so high and mighty in the future, seeing how 8th Continent is notably cheaper than Silk. (My standard.) :P Thanks for grilling General Mills for us Duckalucky! :D We should all do it more often. :D
the cochineal stuff is so gross. my friend had to throw away her red chanel lipstick after finding out it contained it!! :P
she's not veg, but she was absolutely mortified at the thought of putting beetle juice on her face!
I am taken with the new Safeway "organics" line and they make a soymilk. I like it as well as SoyDream, my very favorite which is hard to get where I live. I will be contacting Safeway and asking. Thanks for the tip.
While I was one of the first people to taste Silk in the development stages years ago, I don't drink it. I find it thick and overly sweet, plus a little too high in calorie. I think Silk plain is 140 calories (don't quote me) and what I like is only about 90 calories. For most people, this would not be a problem, but for me it is. I am middle-aged, over my ideal weight with a slowed metabolism. I need all the help I can get. If I do my usual 3 glasses a day for the calcium and B12 content, I save 150 calories on generic versus Silk.
I'll still be checking though!
Except, Mizzoukitten, thats soy products are generally heavily sprayed which is why it is always good to try to use soy products that are organic, if possible.
Not to mention the entire GMO situation which I find quite disturbing.
LadyDragonFly,
I am not a huge fan of the vanilla or the plain soy milks because they have too much sugar and I like to use milk for hot dishes (casseroles, mashed potatoes, etc..). I buy Silk's unsweetened soy milk and it has just 80 calories and has a dairy milk consistency. The plain has 100 grams of sugar. I just wanted to let you know to keep your options open! Plus, I like White Wave because they have good ethics.
I just wanted to say that I love Costco's soy milk. They have recently started carrying cases of the quart-sized asceptic containers - Kirkland brand. I think it tastes great, is very inexpensive, and is organic & non GMO. I'm not sure if their vitamin sources are vegan or not though. Costco has a super friendly corporate office and if you call they will find out for you.