Everything vegan you need to know about Smart Balance: Is it vegan-friendly?
Smart Balance is a company that manufactures margarine substitutes, flavored microwave popcorn, and peanut butter products.
Smart Balance spreads are known as vegetable-based buttery margarine, used to cook, bake and spread. It is also 100% dairy-free and is available in a number of product varieties. Here are just a few of the more popular spreads:
- Smart Balance Organic
- Smart Balance Original
- Smart Balance Omega-3
- Smart Balance Low Sodium
- Smart Balance Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Smart Balance targets vegans, people with lactose intolerant, and the health-conscious. Although this sounds great, is it vegan-friendly? Let us quickly find out…
Table of Contents
Is Smart Balance Spread vegan-friendly?
The answer is: No
Unfortunately, Smart Balance is not vegan friendly. While it is a plant-based margarine, it is not suitable for a vegan diet.
What is Smart Balance made of?
Ingredients
Smart Balance Original has a blend of vegetable oils that make 70% of its ingredients. They are:
- Vegetable Oil Blend (Canola, Palm, and Olive Oils)
- Water
- Salt
- Pea Protein
- Natural and Artificial Flavors
- Sunflower Lecithin
- Vitamin A Palmitate
- Beta-Carotene (Color)
- Vitamin D
- Monoglycerides of Vegetable Fatty Acids (Emulsifier)
- Potassium Sorbate
- Lactic Acid
- Calcium Disodium EDTA (to preserve freshness)
Why is Smart Balance not vegan-friendly?
One of the reasons why Smart Balance is not vegan is palm oil. Strict vegans do not consume palm oil because of animal rights and environmental hazards. Some animals, such as the Orangutans and Sumatran tigers, are killed, and their environs used to grow palm trees. Also, the deforestation happening in this habitat heavily contributes to the current global warming pandemic.
Besides, vitamin D is known to have two sources; an algae-like plant called lichen and lanolin (oil in sheep wool). Smart Balance states its source of vitamin D is lanolin, which is sheep extract. Hence why Smart Balance is not suitable for vegans.
Final Thoughts
Smart Balance is buttery margarine used to cook, bake and spread. It is a substitute for butter but not considered vegan friendly. It contains palm oil and vitamin D ingredients that are not suitable for a vegan diet. Vegans avoid palm oil because its production violates animal rights and causes environmental hazards. Unfortunately, Smart Balance is not vegan friendly.
Find out more about Smart Balance on their website: https://www.smartbalance.com/