We only use organic sugar. We don’t use table sugar, white sugar, or refined sugar. Why don’t we (even when organic sugar costs much more)?
Here’s why (from PETA):
“Bone char, which is used to process sugar, is made from the bones of cattle from Afghanistan, Argentina, India, and Pakistan. The bones are sold to traders in Scotland, Egypt, and Brazil. They “then sell them back to the U.S. sugar industry”.
The European Union and the USDA heavily regulate the use of bone char.
Only countries that are deemed BSE-free can sell the bones of their cattle for this process. Bone char—often referred to as natural carbon—is widely used by the sugar industry as a decolorizing filter, which allows the sugar cane to achieve its desirable white color.
Bone char is also used in other types of sugar. Additionally, brown sugar is created by adding molasses to refined sugar.
Companies that use bone char in the production of their regular sugar also use it in the production of their brown sugar.
Why Organic Sugar?
One simple explanation: bone char is not on the National Organic Program’s National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. Therefore, certified USDA organic sugar cannot be filtered through bone char.