Introduction
Candy is an essential part of many holidays, especially Halloween, but most isn’t vegan. Even many Halloween costumes demonstrate animal welfare, from zookeepers to hunters.
Why isn’t most Halloween candy vegan?
Here are some of the many animal-derived ingredients that are in candy. Note that this list isn’t exclusive and has way more ingredients than listed here.
- Milk (like whey protein, casein, and lactose): Many chocolates
- Eggs: Some chocolates
- Gelatin (bone char): A good chunk of regular candy and gum
- Confectioner’s glaze (shellac): Like jelly beans, Mike & Ike, and candy corn
- Cochineal (red beetle): i.e., Nerds, Hot Tamales, and Red Hots
- Most food colorings (animal testing): Most sugary candy
If you want to make some homemade candy, try these vegan candy recipes today, including but not limited to vegan versions of the following.
- Twix
- Snickers
- Watermelon Jellies
- Kit Kat
- Bounty
Feel free to listen to my Halloween Spotify playlist.