Yes, most figs sold commercially are 100% vegan as they have never contained dead wasps. The less common caducous varieties do contain digested wasps, but still qualify as vegan.
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Figs and fig wasps have a mutually beneficial relationship. The wasps pollinate the figs, but in the process of doing so, die and are reabsorbed by the figs.
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All fertilized fig syconium contain deceased wasps, but evidence of this has long been erased by the time it’s ripe to eat. But most vegans agree that this is a natural process that includes no animal exploitation or cruelty.
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The most commonly cultivated fig tree is Ficus carica. Unlike most wild-type fig trees, this one can produce parthenocarpically. They do not produce seeds and do not have dead wasps in them.
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Despite not containing wasp bodies, most fig products are not vegan because they contain refined sugar. Some of our favorite vegan fig products include: Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars, Traina Home Grown Dried Figs, and Organic Turkish Dried Figs.
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