Is Vegan Food Halal? [Beware – Not Always!]

Muslims who live in non-Muslim countries tend to eat more vegan food because it is more widely available than halal food. Halal and vegan food share many similarities, but is vegan food always halal? Let’s find out what’s not!

Since vegan food doesn’t contain any meat or other haram animal products, which may be forbidden in Islam, it is typically halal. However, certain vegan dishes may contain alcohol, which is forbidden in Islam. Although not every vegan cuisine is halal, the majority of it is.

Can A Muslim Be Vegan?

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Is Vegan Mostly Halal?

The concept of halal food is very dear to Muslims across the globe. Most of them tend to abide by this rule. Islam forbids the consumption of pork, dead animals, blood, and other animals murdered in the name of anybody other than God. In accordance with Islamic law, everything else is halal.

Halal and vegan meals have one thing in common no haram animals are used in the preparation. All Muslims enjoy eating vegan food since they frequently believe it to be halal. So mostly we can say that vegan is halal.

Imagine having to find halal cuisine on the move while living in a non-Muslim state. You can either spend a lot of time visiting different restaurants and inquiring if they serve halal meals or you can just order vegan.

The best substitute for halal meals is vegan. Vegetarianism is regarded as a practice of the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him), who consumed a lot of vegan food himself.

This fatwa of Hamza Yusuf can help you as well:

“Meat is not a necessity in Shari’ah, and in the old days most Muslims used to eat meat, if they were wealthy, like middle class—once a week on Friday. If they were poor—on the Eids.”

“So traditionally Muslims were semi-vegetarians. The Prophet was, I mean, technically, the Prophet (SAWS) was in that category. He was not a meat-eater. Most of his meals did not have meat in them. And the proof of that is clearly in the Muwatta—when Sayyidina Umar says, ‘Beware of meat, because it has an addiction like the addiction of wine.’ And the other hadith in the Muwatta—there is a chapter called ‘Bab al-Laham,’ the chapter of laham, the chapter of meat. Both are from Sayyidina Umar. And Umar, during his khilafa, prohibited people from eating meat two days in a row. He only allowed them to eat [it] every other day. And the khalifa has that right to do that. He did not let people eat meat every day � he saw one man eating meat every day, and he said to him, ‘Every time you get hungry you go out and buy meat? Right? In other words, every time your nafs wants meat, you go out and buy it?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Amir al-Mumineen, ana qaram,’ which in Arabic, ‘qaram’ means ‘I love meat’—he’s a carnivore, he loves meat. And Sayyidina Umar said, ‘It would be better for you to roll up your tummy a little bit so that other people can eat.’”

“Now Umar, if there was a prophet after the Prophet, it would have been Umar. And that is really verging on prophecy, that statement. Because if you study the modern meat industry, you will find out that a lot of the famine in the world is a direct result of the overconsumption of meat in countries like the United States and Canada and Europe, because the amount of grain needed to produce 1 pound of meat, right, is much greater than the amount you need to produce grain itself. And beef in particular—I really recommend Rifkin’s book Beyond Beef. It’s an extraordinary book. And it’s interesting ‘Baqara’ is also a chapter of the Qur’an (‘kill the cow’), because beef-eating societies just have massive impact on the environment, on natural resources, on all these things. And traditionally the Muslims were not cow-eaters, they were sheep and lamb [-eaters] when they did eat meat.”

[source]

It’s perfectly okay to consume vegan and mostly it is halal just make sure no haram ingredient such as alcohol is involved in it.

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Vegan But Not Halal (Avoid These!)

Not every vegan cuisine falls under the halal category. Alcohol is also considered vegan as no animal is involved in the manufacturing process. Some vegan food lovers include alcohol or wine in their vegan dishes to add some flavor. Of course, this will make vegan food haram for Muslims as alcohol is haram under any circumstances.

There are some foods that include vanilla extract. The production of vanilla extract includes alcohol. Some Muslims are really strict when following the halal guidelines. They won’t consume vanilla extract as well. In this case for some Muslims, vanilla extract can also be the reason vegan food is not halal.

Candies usually contain gelatin in it. Gelatin is not considered a meat product but it is usually derived from beef or pork. Mostly gelatin will be haram in non-Muslim countries. Gelatin is considered to be vegan but in this case, it will be haram or prohibited.

Most Muslims also love consuming cheese. There is an ingredient called rennet that is used in the making of cheese. Rennet usually comes from the bellies of animals. Now if the animal wasn’t slaughtered then the rennet will be haram and the cheese as well. Cheese can also be in some vegan foods and overlooked which can be haram so try to avoid those as well.

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Is Halal Food Vegan?

Just like all vegan food isn’t halal, all halal food isn’t vegan as well. Halal food includes meat that is slaughtered in the name of God. Now some animals are haram for example pigs but all halal animals still aren’t vegan.

Another example can be dairy products. Eggs are halal in all situations but are not vegan at all.

There are vegan halal dishes though that only include vegetables. These are the only vegan food that is halal.

Is Vegan Meat Halal?

Vegan meat is plant-derived meat that includes soybeans, potatoes, mushrooms, and rice. Vegan meat is an alternative to meat as it includes all the vegan ingredients yet it tastes like meat.

People usually opt for vegan meat for health benefits. It is perfectly halal if all the ingredients used are halal. Keep in mind to check whether any alcohol was involved in the cooking or not.

Is Plant Based Impossible Pork Halal?

For those who adore meat, there is Impossible Pork, which is manufactured from plants. It works perfectly as a substitute for ground pork from pigs in all of your favorite dishes, but it is produced without the use of animal hormones or antibiotics.

As far as I have researched it is halal as it doesn’t include any haram ingredient. Impossible pork means that no pork was involved in the manufacturing process.

Is Impossible Burger Halal?

Impossible burger is halal. It is made using plants and no meat is involved. Plant-based impossible burgers are also now halal certified.

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Final Thoughts

Vegan food is not always halal but mostly. All you need to look at are the ingredients. If no alcohol or any other haram ingredient is involved in the making then vegan food is halal.

Some vegan food might include alcohol, haram cheese, or haram gelatin making vegan food not permissible. Do make sure to check the ingredients.

And Allah Knows Best.