Recently, we contacted the major players in cereal to find out where they source their vitamin D from. Why, you ask? Being vegan, we like to know what mainstream foods are animal friendly in case we are at the mercy of an omnivore at dinner time, or find ourselves starving in a small town with nothing but a burger joint and a gas station. Since you can find soy milk pretty much anywhere these days, cereal is a simple fall back when you want food fast. Besides nothing goes better with Saturday morning than cereal. ;)
In short, D2 is vegan, D3 is not. We inquired about the source because many labels simply state ‘Vitamin D’ as an ingredient without specifying the scientific name. Here’s a little more info from the Vegetarian Resource Group:
Two different forms of vitamin D are used in supplements and fortified foods. Vitamin D2, also called ergocalciferol, is manufactured through the ultraviolet irradiation of a substance called ergosterol that comes from yeast. Vitamin D2 is vegan. Vitamin D3, also called cholecalciferol, is made by the ultraviolet irradiation of a substance derived from sheep’s wool.
Below you will find the correspondence with Post, Kellogg’s, Cascadian Farm (General Mills), HappyBaby, and Wegmans. Sadly, most of the cereal that we loved as kids is not on a vegan menu.
We asked, “Where is your vitamin D sourced from?” and they responded:
Kellogg’s
Thank you for contacting us concerning Vitamin D used in our products. We appreciate your interest in our company and products.
The vitamin premixes used in Kellogg products include Vitamin D. Our ingredient specification for Vitamin D says that we can use either Vitamin D2 or D3 in our products. Vitamin D3 is derived from lanolin, an animal product; Vitamin D2 is not animal-derived. In either case, the vitamin premix is Kosher certified.
Kellogg Company was founded with a philosophy that encouraged people to improve their health. As W.K. Kellogg said, “We are a company of dedicated people making quality products for a healthier world.”
We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your questions and concerns and thank you for your loyalty to our brands.
Post
Thank you for the inquiry regarding our Vitamin D.
We use Vitamin D3 which is derived from lanolin, or sheeps wool. This is not harmful to the sheep in any way.
We hope you find this information useful.
Cascadian Farm (General Mills)
Thank you for contacting Cascadian Farm with your inquiry. The vitamin D is from lanolin which is from sheeps wool.
We hope you find this information helpful. Please let us know if we can help you again.
HappyBaby
Our Vitamin D is from a vegetarian source (lanolin). Please feel free to email with any other questions you may have.
I thought you might like a copy of our Nutrition Guide co-authored by Dr. Sears.
Wegmans
We received your email asking what is the source of the vitamin D found in Wegmans Brand Organic Cereals is. I have checked with the supplier and discovered that the vitamin D is vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) which is derived from the lanolin from sheep’s wool.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We value you as a customer and hope to continue serving you in the future.
The good news is that Quaker cereals don’t add vitamin D at all, so you can eat Capt’n Crunch without any moral conflict! Yay!
