UPDATE Nov 26/2024: There’s a surprising update to this story – we’ve got one more reason Oreos aren’t vegan: they’re now from a company that does animal testing. PETA has put out the word that Mondelez, the company that owns Oreos, has done some pretty awful stuff recently. (PDF backup.) Now if only PETA would be consistent and maintain the same level of outrage for animal tested foods like Just Egg and Impossible Burger! The original story continues below:
This topic seems to pop up a surprising amount around Victoria and seems worth highlighting.
It’s a fairly simple question: are Oreos vegan?
Nope. Oreos aren’t vegan.
I actually wrote about it a while ago a different vegan blog which you can find here, with the receipts.
In short, the company explicitly says no they’re not vegan (which includes a letter from them just a few weeks ago), and the cocoa they use has direct ties to human trafficking and child slave labour. (It’s so bad, John Oliver even covered it, there’s a video on the piece as well.)
If the company is telling people they’re not vegan, they’re not vegan. Trust me, they want your money.
In a similar theme of ‘vegan-ness’, one local business also used to make a public point of not using palm oil (a position worthy of accolades!) but reversed this apparently, as the Oreos they use also contain palm oil.
Despite the indisputable evidence, and having been provided this information, a few of the plant-based businesses in town continue to use Oreo-brand cookies.
And to make matters worse, these businesses also highlight and market that they use them, celebrating this brand, insisting on calling them by name. (And gaslight local vegans, confusing the issue further.)
Which is also puzzling to me – I see the word ‘Oreo’ and think ‘multi-national corporation peddling a terrible and highly processed food product‘. I don’t even want these tied to veganism. It makes me cringe in the same way as when I see a Nestle product labelled as ‘vegan’. (F*ck Nestle, by the way.)
In some discussions I’ve had, Oreos have been described as a ‘comfort food’, but there’s nothing comforting about them. They’re awful from just about every angle.
Another excuse was PETA listing them as ‘accidentally vegan’. I recall an older list, and right at the top they had an asterisk that highlighted some of the products may actually contain animal products. 🤦♂️
PETA has since wisened up, perhaps due to deserved backlash from mindful vegans, and their new list is MUCH smaller, and Oreos are omitted: https://www.peta.org/living/food/accidentally-vegan/
On the Vegan Society website they’re listed as vegan certified, but those are ONLY in the UK. Ingredients differ greatly between nations, apparently in Japan they contain cow’s milk as well.
And to be frank, it’s lazy to rely on Oreos as a gimmick and ingredient. I feel like there are much more interesting ways to bake, and I’m inclined to select baked goods demonstrating genuine creativity.
And finally, and perhaps most irritating, is that there are actual vegan ‘sandwich cookies’ that can be used, if this flavour is truly desired.
The Meet restaurants for example used Newman’s Own cookies. Cinnaholic has cookie crumbles, but they’re clearly not Oreos. My personal favourite are the Country Choice organic sandwich cookies. And another organic brand is Savor, which are available around town, including the Market on Yates.
There are upwards of a dozen good reasons not to use or consume Oreo brand cookies, but I can’t think of a single reason to justify their use.
Some might still be asking: why is this important? It’s important because veganism relies on trust, especially in the commercial market. We need to be able to trust businesses who claim to be vegan, and are trusted with social authority on the matter. If we don’t have that trust that they’re genuinely trying to be vegan, and make necessary changes when needed, then we’re experiencing a breakdown that will degrade the integrity and intention of veganism. When informed that something isn’t vegan, it’s not appropriate to double-down and get into the circus of rationalization.
Veganism at its core is about doing the ‘right thing’, and in this case, it means not using Oreos.
I hope these businesses will reconsider their choices and help end the gaslighting and confusion of this topic, and stop feeding people food they know very well isn’t vegan and runs against their ethics.
IMPORTANT: This piece is not intended as a call to boycott, and please be kind and respectful when approaching businesses about this and other matters. They’re all doing their best, but hopefully sometimes they just need a friendly nudge to do the right thing.
Please feel free to forward this to anyone who thinks Oreos are vegan! 🥰
EXTRA EXTRA!
A Fun Little History Lesson
Did you know the original sandwich cookie was the Hydrox cookie? It was created in 1908, but the idea was stolen in 1912 and called the Oreo. Contemporary Hydrox cookies are certified vegan, with better ingredients, the full story is on Wikipedia.
EDITOR NOTES: Added the ‘why is it important’ paragraph on November 15th.
