Red Bull is one of the country’s most favorite caffeinated drinks, consumed by avid gym-goers and college students alike.
Not only is it a popular energy drink, but Red Bull is also used as a mixer or chaser for alcoholic beverages, such as vodka.
When you’re new to the world of veganism, you have to do more research than you might think to determine which foods and drinks are suitable for your diet.
People still assume that eating a plant-based diet consists of just fruits and vegetables, but what about some of the most popular products like Red Bull?
If you’re wondering “is Red Bull vegan?”, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s everything you need to know about whether Red Bull is vegan or not!
So, Is Red Bull Vegan?
Let’s cut to the chase – yes, Red Bull is considered vegan! Red Bull is considered vegan because it does not contain any animal by-products in its ingredients list.
As a vegan diet means the individual chooses not to consume meat, fish, or dairy (or anything that comes from an animal, including honey), then they are fine to drink Red Bull, as it does not contain any of these products.
However, if you want to delve deeper into the ingredients inside Red Bull, it becomes somewhat of a gray area for vegans.
Let’s take a look at the ingredients in Red Bull:
- Sugar
- Carbonated water
- Natural and artificial flavors
- Taurine
- Citric acid
- Glucose
- Baking soda
- Artificial colors
- Caffeine
- Magnesium carbonate
- Vitamin B12
- Niacinamide
- Vitamin B6
- Calcium pantothenate
While there are 5 types of Red Bull (Red Bull Energy Drink, Red Bull Total Zero, Red Bull Sugarfree, Red Bull Editions, and Organics by Red Bull), the ingredients list doesn’t vary too much for each product. This means that all Red Bull drinks can be consumed by vegans!
What Makes Red Bull Not Vegan?
As mentioned before, there are a couple of ingredients in Red Bull that some might deem non-vegan due to the gray area they belong in. It all comes down to the inclusion of taurine and artificial colors.
Taurine is a dietary supplement found in lots of energy drinks that is believed to have antioxidant properties. While it can be made synthetically as a dietary supplement, it is naturally found in dairy products, meat, fish, and human milk.
The research surrounding the benefits of taurine is still largely yet to be proven, but it is suggested that taurine works well with caffeine to improve and boost performance, which is why it’s an important ingredient in Red Bull.
However, there is no way of telling whether the taurine in Red Bull derives from meat, fish, dairy, human milk, or if it’s been made synthetically. Unfortunately, Red Bull has not disclosed this information.
Still, considering that the majority of taurine found in other energy drinks comes from synthetic and vegan-friendly sources, it might be safe to assume that it is still safe for vegans to consume. The other gray area of Red Bull comes down to the artificial colors.
We all know that the vibrant pink-orange color of Red Bull isn’t a result of natural colors, and artificial colors are synthetically made to not contain any animal by-products. The issue with artificial colors isn’t in their own ingredients – it’s the way they are tested.
Artificial colors, unfortunately, remain to be tested on animals. The safety of the consumption of artificial colors is still largely being researched, which is why they are tested on animals prior to humans.
As a result of this, some vegans feel very uncomfortable purchasing and consuming products with artificial colors, as this works to fund (and therefore support) animal testing.
Of course, whether or not you would consider taurine and artificial colors to be vegan or not comes down to personal preference.
Lots of vegans unknowingly consume these ingredients, or even do so knowingly. Sometimes, life is far too short to rule out absolutely every ingredient in drink or food.
Conclusion
So, there you have it! Red Bull is inherently vegan, as confirmed by their website. This is because Red Bull does not contain any animal by-products in its ingredients list, such as dairy, meat, or fish.
However, there is a slight gray area when it comes to taurine and artificial colors, which are vital ingredients in Red Bull.
Some taurine is derived from meat, fish, and dairy products, and artificial colors are tested on animals. Whether you feel comfortable consuming Red Bull with the knowledge of these gray areas is totally up to you!
