Soft drinks are so popular that some countries consume up to 137 liters per person yearly, but is soda vegan and vegetarian?
Most sods contain natural flavor which can include animal-derived products, but it’s mostly a vegan ingredient in soda. Almost all soda is entirely vegan and vegetarian as they are without any animal products.
Some soda brands once used obscure animal ingredients to add flavors or color, but that’s rare today. You will seldom encounter sodas that use animal products, but it is a possibility. Especially in juice-flavored soft drinks.
Veganism is about more than avoiding eggs, dairy, honey, and meat. It’s a lifestyle that seeks to reduce suffering, so it’s not always an easy answer. Some sodas may have vegan ingredients but use other inhumane practices.
So always stay alert and make sure your favorite soda brand is not involved in social or environmental controversies.
Which Sodas Are Vegan Table
| Soda | Is It Vegan | It It Vegetarian |
| Coca-Cola | YES | YES |
| Coca-Cola Life | UNKNOWN | UNKNOWN |
| Diet Coke | YES | YES |
| Coke Zero | YES | YES |
| Pepsi | YES | YES |
| Pepsi Max | YES | YES |
| Sprite | YES | YES |
| Fanta Orange | NOW IT IS | NOW IT IS |
| Mountain Dew | YES | YES |
| Dr. Pepper | YES | YES |
| Diet Dr. Pepper | YES | YES |
Keep in mind that this list is in regards to the ingredients. The vegan lifestyle includes much more than just diet. It’s about reducing suffering to the extent possible, and you may not agree on the practices of all firms.
So it’s a highly individual question in that respect. You may not love everything these brands do, and then you should probably leave it alone altogether. However, all of the sodas branded as vegan and vegetarian are 100% without animal ingredients.
What Sodas Are Vegan
Is Coca-Cola Vegan
Coco-cola is definitely the first thing everybody thinks of when talking soda. It’s by far the most popular soda out there which is why it’s first on the list. So firstly we need to identify whether the ingredients are vegan.
As you can see below, the ingredients in Coca-Cola Original is both vegan and vegetarian. So it’s entirely vegan in regards to its components. Although the brand is often in controversies over its large usage of natural resources.
One small bottle of Cola takes 1.9 liters to produce. So it’s no surprise they use an enormous amount of water considering how much Cola is produced daily.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients In Coca-Cola
Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavors, Caffeine.
Is Coca-Cola Life Vegan
This one is actually a bit tricky. I’m not able to identify whether or not the natural flavors include animal products. Coca-Cola states on its website that you need to read the label to make sure if it’s vegan or vegetarian.
Read more about natural flavor in this article.
The issue is that Coca-Cola Life contains natural flavor. -And that can include animal products. However, I don’t think they would put non-vegan ingredients in a product that’s meant to be natural. Especially, as all the others are without.
Verdict: Unknown Whether It's Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients In Coca-Cola Life
Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Natural Flavors, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Benzoate (To Protect Taste), Caffeine, *stevia Leaf Extract (Steviol Glycosides Processed From Stevia Leaf).
Is Diet Coke Vegan
Diet coke is entirely vegan in terms of its ingredients. It contains natural flavors, which is not always a vegan and vegetarian ingredient. So I contacted the company to make sure it’s free from any possible non-vegan parts.
Coca-Cola has confirmed that its Diet Coke drink is without animal ingredients. So you don’t need to worry about the natural flavors. However, it’s a part of the Coca-Cola company, so it depends on your stance about their general business practices.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients In Diet Coke
Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Aspartame, Phosphoric Acid, Potassium Benzoate (To Protect Taste), Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Caffeine.
Is Coke Zero Vegan
Yet another entirely vegan zero calories soda. Coke Zero contains natural flavors, but Coca-Cola has stated explicitly that it’s without animal products. So coke zero can be consumed by vegetarians, as well as, vegans.
However, I don’t advise you to drink large amounts of soda. Regardless of the caloric content. Research shows that even zero-calorie soda increases the risk of many lifestyle diseases. So drink in moderation despite the few calories.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients In Coke Zero
Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Aspartame, Potassium Benzoate, Natural Flavors, Potassium Citrate, Acesulfame Potassium, Caffeine.
Is Pepsi Vegan
Pepsi is entirely vegan. There are no possible animal ingredients in Pepsi, so there’s no issue there. Although, it’s still not a healthy product, so drink in moderation.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients In Pepsi
Carbonated Water, Sugar, Colour (Caramel E150d), Acid (Phosphoric Acid), Flavourings (including Caffeine).
Is Diet Pepsi Vegan
So Pepsi is vegan, but is Diet Pepsi vegan? After all, the ingredients are much more complicated than the regular. This is usually not a good thing.
Diet Pepsi is vegan despite the many ingredients. It’s mainly artificial stuff, as you may imagine, which is mostly vegan. -And the same goes for Diet Pepsi.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients In Diet Pepsi
Carbonated Water, Colour (Caramel E150d), Acids (Phosphoric Acid, Citric Acid), Flavourings (including Caffeine), Sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame K), Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate). Contains A Source Of Phenylalanine.
Is Sprite Vegan
Sprite has the problematic ingredient natural flavor, but it’s entirely vegan in this case. The same goes for all the other components. So Sprite is definitely vegan, but it’s far from a healthy drink.
It contains high fructose corn syrup, which has many health risks. It converts easily to fat and is linked directly to increased risk of weight gain.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients In Sprite
Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate (To Protect Taste).
is Fanta Vegan
Fanta ones used fish oil to give it that orange color. I know it’s strange, but brands use obscure ingredients for weird reasons sometimes. Although, this is luckily not the case anymore. Or so it seems.
Coca-Cola is the owners of this soda, and they have a list of non-vegan soda in their selection. Fanta is not on this list. So we can guess that the use of fish oil is stopped, which aligns with other recent articles about the practice.
Verdict: Now It Is
Ingredients in Fanta
Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (To Protect Taste), Natural Flavors, Modified Food Starch, Sodium Polyphosphates, Glycerol Ester Of Rosin, Yellow 6, Red 40.
Is Mountain Dew Vegan
Mountain Dew may have the most daunting ingredients label in a soda, but it’s entirely vegan and vegetarian. The natural flavors, orange juice, and all the others are all derived from vegan sources. So there is nothing wrong with Mountain Dew in terms of ingredients.
Although I advise you to drink this soda in moderation. It has a lot of ingredients that are not exactly healthy for anyone. So just limit your intake, a Mountain Dew here, and there won’t cause much damage.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients in Mountain Dew
Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Concentrated Orange Juice, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Sodium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness), Caffeine, Sodium Citrate, Erythorbic Acid (Preserves Freshness), Gum Arabic, Calcium Disodium Edta (To Protect Flavor), Brominated Vegetable Oil, Yellow 5
Is Dr. Pepper Vegan
Dr. Pepper has both natural and artificial flavors listed as an ingredient. While that’s true, it’s still a vegan and vegetarian product. None of the ingredients are derived from animals.
Dr. Pepper may use large quantities of natural resources, but they have many initiatives for more sustainable production. So I consider this a vegan product in all regards. It’s not as good for the environment or healthy as water, but it’s fine.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients In Dr. Pepper
Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Caffeine
Is Diet Dr. Pepper Vegan
Lastly on the list is Diet Dr. Pepper. It’s an entirely vegan product as none of the ingredients are from animal sources. So it’s vegan despite the obvious health concerns of drinking soda as artificial as Diet Dr. Pepper.
Verdict: Vegan And Vegetarian
Ingredients in Dr. Pepper
Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Aspartame, Phosphoric Acid, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Caffeine
Conclusion
Most sodas are 100% vegan despite their sketchy ingredients -but don’t just assume that all sodas are vegan. Some use animal ingredients, just not the ones on this list. In fact, some of them used to have it, so it’s a real concern.
Do your research or contact the company if you have a favorite soda outside of this list. Most companies are open about whether or not they have animal products. They won’t tell you the exact ingredients, just if it contains animal-derived ingredients.
Hey, I’m Gus! I have been vegan for quite some years now, and have collected a lot of knowledge about the subject in this time. My goal with this blog is to spread the vegan message and make it easy to know exactly what’s vegan and what’s not.