Are Gardettos Vegan? The One reason why they are not!

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Are Gardettos Vegan?

Who doesn’t love a crunchy snack with refreshing fruit juice? Gardettos are one of the most popular snacks in our cultures, and as usual, we want to explore the question, “Are Gardettos Vegan?

For the most part, the disappointing answer is no, although it is a raging topic in the vegan community; Gardettos are not vegan. For instance, most people tend to argue that Gardettos Original, Reduced Fat Original, and Deli Style Mustard are vegan because dairy and eggs are absent on the ingredient list. On the other hand, some individuals strictly oppose the Italian product that contains cheese, a dairy component, and, therefore, not vegan.

Well, of course, in the case of assessing products that contain multi-variant ingredients, we can often tend to get different answers for the same product against different categories.

But as a knowledge-based portal, we cannot just say no and that’s that we need to surface our arguments on the issue and also finally provide a vegan bypass on the problem.

What are Gardettos?

First, we shall determine what Gardettos are and how they’re made, so that we may answer the above question in a well-founded manner and leave it up to you to decide for yourselves.

Gardettos are a brand of snacks founded by the Gardetto family’s bakery in 1932 but were later acquired in 1999 by General Mills.

According to what the packaging was saying, the recipe was made by Judy Gardetto. By mixing breadsticks with varieties of other different snacks along with sprinkling a little seasoning she made a household brand that would seep into other generations.

However, the original recipe did receive many changes over time as tastes, trends, and business interests entered into the mix. Thus, the article rests on the ingredients at hand currently.

We can only conclude as to how vegan something is if its ingredients tell the whole story. Different factors coming into play cut across the environmental impacts and those effects on animals and other living organisms, but we also have to acknowledge the fact that there comes in different types of Gardettos.

How many types of Gardettos exist?

These are the Gardetto’s varieties you’ll find:

Gardetto’s Original
Gardetto’s Reduced Fat Original
Gardetto’s Garlic Rye Chips
Gardetto’s Deli Style Mustard

The Controversy around the Gardettos and veganism

Gardetto’s original includes the following in its ingredients:

Vegetable oil
Enriched flour
Rye flour
Yeast
Salt
Sugar
Maltodextrin
Corn syrup
Baking soda
Onion powder
Spice
Worcestershire sauce

The most disputed ingredient in the vegan society mentioned there is the final ingredient, Worcestershire sauce. Let’s investigate why?

Is The Worcestershire sauce vegan Or Not?

To conclude the answer in one sentence, Worcestershire sauce comes from an animal source, so let’s keep this in mind before we continue. It is extracted from the Anchovies fish. This implies that many fish every year are subjected to the brutality of losing their lives for the making of the sauce, no matter what percentage is needed.

I tried to go through the official website generalmills.com but did not find any reliable information about Worcester but was able to find this screenshot on Reddit consisting of a reply from general mills that Worcester is not vegan.

Obviously, the impact of Worcestershire sauce on aquatic ecosystems is destructive. Abandoned used fishing nets contribute to pollution in the oceans and other water bodies, thereby causing disease and death of numerous other water-based species. The fishing impacts corals and sponges.

They lose their lives. All the more reason they are stuck in narrow enclosures so they can eat other sea species. It follows that to feed them billions of others have to be caught. Objectively, the human sacrifice a large population of sea life in order to produce a kilogram of Worcestershire sauce.

In addition to this are other animals that by chance get caught in the fishing nets. From the dolphins, sea birds, protected fish, and a sea turtle or two, it is no joke.

Of course, it is not even good for the laborers at all. They are prone to so many forms of injuries and accidents that may result in death. According to reports, nearly 20% of the workers have been injured at work. It would also be interesting to note that 50% of the workers are trafficked. These injuries include lost fingers, broken, bones, cuts and bruises, electrocutions, head injuries, and many other gruesome injuries that ultimately have led to death.

Now many may say, “They made a choice” but if we are objective and if we can have a heart about the cruelty and exploitation of animals then we should certainly have a heart for other human beings. These are human beings, exploited through politics, the economics of the system, and lack of knowledge.

A hardline vegan can never thus support the use of Worcestershire sauce. It is not vegan and if Gardettos are willing to include it how can they be vegan?

Can Vegan Worcestershire Sauce Make A difference?

We have seen many, especially among the vegans, come up with their substitutes for Worcestershire sauce. The most common components include Apple cider vinegar, black pepper, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, allspice, garlic powder, and soy sauce.

However, if this is a substitute one must make it at home. It does not mitigate the damage that already has been accomplished by the sauce that comes in the package.

After all, the anchovies fish and others will still be awaiting their fates regardless of the ingredient swap by someone. This is going to be the case until the manufacturing company for the product decides to remove the item that is called Worcestershire sauce. Until then, it is going to stay on the not vegan list.

Should Gardettos Make A Vegan Product?

We all hope that every company on the planet would have a moral obligation to look at the impact of their production on the ecology of this world. What does it profit man-kind to gain profit and lose the planet?

In the information age, big corporations are compelled to do better as far as creating a cruelty-free, green and sustainable utopia.

In conclusion

Veganism is one of the most sustainable lifestyles that can end world hunger whilst making the planet pleasant for other sentient species besides humans.

We all have a moral obligation to work toward a future where there is balance in the ecosystem. It is not only good for us but all creatures on the face of this beautiful planet.

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