Vegan Snack Summary

The animal agriculture industry is one of the top polluting industries on the planet. One of the best ways to lower your carbon footprint is by choosing vegan snacks over cheese, hotdogs, beef jerky, ice cream, etc.

There are a considerable number of resources required to produce food from animals. First, animals need water to drink and food to eat. It takes up to 200 times more water to raise one pound of beef than it does to grow one pound of vegetables or fruit. Millions of people have no access to clean water for various reasons, such as water pollution or drought. It takes 1800 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. Just think of how many people could benefit from that clean water! The feed that is given to factory farmed animals is often genetically modified, which has a string of negative side effects on both human health, and the environment.  

The animals also need to be transported, producing CO2 and methane gas, not to mention the methane created from animal feces. The livestock industry produces more pollution than all forms of transportation in the world combined. If we were to swap factory farms for plant farms, not only would they produce less harmful gases, but the plants themselves would actually purify the air. 

Livestock farming inevitably leads to deforestation, as massive areas of forest are clear-cut to make room for more grain fields and space to house even more animals. The fewer trees, the faster climate change runs its course.

Plant based snacks use on average 1/10th to 1/16th the resources to produce compared to traditional animal based snacks. So less energy, water, land are needed and much less waste is created. . So, choosing vegan snacks instead can eliminate the excessive use of such valuable resources.

Snacks are a quick fix to your hunger pangs between meals. You can purchase ready-made snacks or throw together something yourself (anything under 10 minutes of prep time counts as a snack to us!) A vegan snack is anything that doesn’t include animal-based ingredients such as meat, dairy, or eggs.

There is more to vegan snacking than hummus and crackers or Oreos. There are delicious snack options that you can buy or whip up fast that will rival – or even surpass the flavor of your favorite animal-based snacks.

But what snacks are vegan? Vegan snack options include the obvious – like vegetables and fruits, which are a delicious and healthy option. But we all have those snack cravings that just can’t be satisfied by fruits and veggies. 

Salty snacks like super buttery popcorn or beef jerky are now available in vegan friendly snacks. And for your sweet tooth, you can get some vegan candy or chocolate. 

Some of your favorite snacks may already be vegan and you don’t even know it! Snacks like crackers, Oreos, unfrosted pop tarts, potato chips, Twizzlers and Sour Patch Kids are all unintentionally vegan. 

Let’s take a look at some more of the options available to you.

Vegan snacks are made from just about anything you can imagine, but if you’re looking for snacks that closely mimic snacks made with animal products, then here are some of the most common ingredients and best sources of plant-based protein.

Pea protein
Tofu
Soy
Chickpeas
Flaxseeds/apple sauce (as an egg replacer)
Nuts and nut butters
Almond/oat/soy/coconut milk (as a dairy replacer)
Dates

Many vegan snack options include very standard ingredients that you’d also find in non-vegan snacks like wheat, oats, sugar, corn, potatoes etc. Plus, fruits and vegetables always make an easy and healthy snacking option in a pinch, since you can pick them up anywhere.