5 Reasons Why Plant-Based Soda Is Better Than Conventional Soda

We are seeing changes in the soda industry. Vegan soda is on the rise as attitudes and expectations shift to accommodate new planet-centric, environmentally aware production methods. 

As organic, natural, and plant-based beverages grow in popularity it is becoming obvious that the reliance of the soda industry on animal products and chemical additives is an anachronism. Vegan sodas produced from all-plant, vegan ingredients are just as delicious, if not better, than the conventional sodas they are replacing.

Here we look at five ways that plant-based sodas are showing up conventional sodas in today’s market!

Conventional Sodas Typically Have Yellow 5 and Other Toxins

Unlike vegan sodas, many conventional sodas contain Yellow 5, also called tartrazine or E102, a contentious food additive that has been in use since the 60s to disguise heavy and unnatural processing in food. It is used to make processed foods, candy, and soda drinks appear more fresh and delicious than they actually are. It's also been shown to be pretty harmful to our bodies.

Yellow 5 has been causatively linked by several studies over the decades between 1969 and 1994 to child hyperactivity disorders. 

A 2015 study has found that Yellow 5 can damage the DNA of cells exposed to it, potentially harming their ability to self-repair. Theoretically, this could lead to increased likelihood of cancer developing. The study found that, while Yellow 5 does not cause cancer in its allowed concentrations, it can increase tumor cell growth where cancer is already present. These most recent studies concluded that consuming Yellow 5 and other additives regularly, increasing exposure across an entire lifetime, is not recommended.

Yellow 5 is also tested on animals, calling into question its viability as a vegan additive!

Organic, plant-based beverages are free from Yellow 5 and other AFCs (artificial food colors), eliminating this concern altogether. Vegan soda carries no ADHD risk, no cancer risk, no risk of other health complications arising from the inclusion of Yellow 5; plant-based beverages are best.

A More Natural Taste For A More Natural Age

No one is surprised by the flavors of conventional soft drinks; sugar, sweetener, artificial fruit flavorings, classic cola that’s been around for centuries… Rarely is there a surprise and, when there is, seldom is it a pleasant one.

This simply is not true in the expanding world of plant-based beverages. The clever food scientists behind the new wave of health-conscious, vegan sodas made many flavorful discoveries along the way. They are incorporating those discoveries into delightful, additive-free plant-based beverages for us all to enjoy. 

Combinations of natural, fruit-, vegetable-, and plant-based flavors presented in clean water with a crisp sparkle is, it turns out, a surefire way to delight the taste buds. Humans have been enjoying natural fruit and plant tastes for a very long time and the vegan sodas that incorporate those flavors have a natural appeal. The sugar that is used in plant-based beverages is typically fine cane sugar, organic and raw, unlike the refined sugars used in conventional soft drinks which are made using cow bone char.

All of this adds up to support the facts: plant-based beverages and vegan sodas, with their natural flavors and sugars, are at least as delicious, usually more so, than conventional sodas made with aftertaste-ridden artificial flavors and refined, bodiless sugars.

Cruelty-Free Is The Way To Be

You’d be surprised how many of the ingredients in conventional soda are not considered vegan. Over the years, many companies have found it convenient to use animal-derived ingredients to cut corners to a viable product. Many of these companies have been operating since a time prior to the widespread awareness of the benefits of plant-based beverage production. 

It is obvious that artificial flavorings, many of the most popular of which (vanilla, orange, cherry) are derived from animals, are less desirable than quality, natural, plant-derived flavorings. What is less obvious is the difference between ingredients like plant-derived dyes and those used in conventional sodas, many of which are derived from the shells of bugs and insects.

So what are these non-vegan ingredients? Animal-fat derived glycerol in ester gum. Insect-derived dyes and colorings. Preservatives tested on animals. Vitamin additives such as D3, often derived from sheep wool oils. Many of these ingredients are still polluting soda drinks today! It’s important for vegans, vegetarians, and health-concerned shoppers to know which soft drinks are organic and safe and which are chemically contaminated. 

Variety, Variety, Variety! 

Many flavor discoveries were made in the search for viable, natural, plant-based recipes for vegan sodas that would be delicious and refreshing enough to reach market viability and success. The emergence of new vegan soda ideas in plant-based beverages was stoked by the natural tendency among vegans and vegetarians to seek variety and originality of flavor, texture, mouthfeel, and experience.

The result is an enormous wealth of different types of vegan sodas! From traditional soda flavors to new and experimental ones, and everything in between! 

Gastronomy-inspired experimentation has also produced an abundance of strange, unusual, and surprising flavors in vegan sodas, from jalapeño to ice cream to nettle. In case the point hasn’t been driven home: you could drink a different plant-based soda every day for the rest of your life and never have to drink the same one twice!

The same variety simply isn’t evident in the struggling conventional soda industry, where innovation is bogged down in chemical tangs and refined sugar’s flavor limitations…

It’s The Future, Not The Past!

The conventional soft drinks and soda industry has been in decline for most of the 21st century. Increasingly health-conscious and environmentally aware consumers are turning towards natural, additive-free options.

As customers abandon unhealthy and environmentally harmful soft drinks they clearly demonstrate awareness that what we put into our bodies matters.

Be part of the solution! The rising plant-based beverage and health-focused vegan soda industry stands to revitalize the flagging soda product category and usher in a new age of delicious, nutritious refreshment! 

To Sum Things Up

With so many reasons to switch to plant-based, vegan sodas - health, nutrition, flavor, environmental awareness, animal rights ethics, and many others besides - and so few to remain with played-out and unhealthy conventional sodas, there has never been a more exciting time to be a vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, or ethical consumer in the soda market.