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A question for vegans re: processed foods
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Anonymous
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My brother in law is a vegetarian, and whenever he comes to visit, he goes the store and stocks up on his special food items. He likes to cook, and I think it's terrific that he doesn't expect to be waited on and catered to. So while he's with us, I substitute his processed oil spread for butter, use his organic cheese, eat the faux-meat dishes he makes etc. And then I looked at some of the labels. EEK! You know that rule, about how you shouldn't eat manufactured foods that have more than five ingredients, or if you can't pronounce the ingredients? So what gives? How is something so highly processed better than the real thing? I get the objection to using animals, or wanting to avoid hormones, but wouldn't a better option be just to skip it completely, instead of eating this pretend food?
As illustration, I give you the ingredient list for Boca cheeseburgers: WATER, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, PASTEURIZED PROCESS CHEDDAR CHEESE (CHEDDAR CHEESE [PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES], WATER, MILKFAT, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE, SALT, ARTIFICIAL COLOR), CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF WHEAT GLUTEN, CANOLA OIL, CHEESE POWDER (WHEY, CHEDDAR CHEESE [MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES], BUTTER, BUTTERMILK SOLIDS, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, NATURAL FLAVOR (NON-MEAT), ENZYME MODIFIED CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), SODIUM PHOSPHATE, ENZYMES, XANTHAN GUM]), YEAST EXTRACT, METHYLCELLULOSE, SUGAR, ONION POWDER, NATURAL FLAVOR (NON-MEAT), DRIED SOY SAUCE (SOYBEANS, WHEAT, SALT), SALT, SESAME OIL, CARAMEL COLOR, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, DISODIUM INOSINATE, LACTIC ACID, SUCCINIC ACID. |
Anonymous
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If your brother is vegan, you shouldn't be buying veggie cheeseburgers with cheddar cheese. I think that people who are vegan/vegetarian aren't doing it because they are into solely "whole" food, but because they have some other objection to eating meat/dairy. When I learn more about where our meat comes from, I like the idea of being vegetarian more and more.
Most people accept that some of their diet is going to come from processed food, however you define it, even if you shop at Whole Foods. People like convenience. The beef-substitute "crumbles" were a staple in my non-veggie home (as an alternative to ground beef) until I heard about the chemical, semi-toxic process that goes into extracting the soy protein from soybeans. |
Anonymous
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OP, you seem to be confusing vegan and vegetarian. Vegans do not eat dairy (incl. cheese made from milk) or any animal products (including honey). From what you describe, your relative is a vegetarian.
As for vegetarians eating these processed foods, I have three comments (and I'm a veg.). First, people are vegetarians for various reasons and not always for health reasons. Not all veggies are health nuts, some eat processed crap all the time. I have met other veggies who eat this way for ethical reasons so they don't care about all the saturated fat in cheese or the scary products in processed "fake meat" products. Second, like any group, there are some less enlightened veggies and some may think that if it's vegetarian it's necessarily healthier. Maybe he doesn't realize that those processed products are as unhealthy as they are. Finally, sometimes veggies (and I fall into this category) use more fake meat and processed products when cooking for meat-eating folks to try to make food that is closer to what they are used to. When my in laws visit, I use fake meat to make the kind of food they usually eat because I think they're more comfortable with that over things I usually eat. My in laws are not going to eat or enjoy straight tofu. So I wouldn't necessarily assume that how your BIL cooks when he's with you is representative of how he usually eats. It may well be, but not necessarily. |
Anonymous
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Yeah, I know I was a little fuzzy on the vegan/vegetarian thing. I do know the difference, but the BIL is somewhere in between. He will eat eggs and cheese, but only if they're organic, and if he believes in the organic cred of the producer. In restaurants, he eats vegan style. He often buys the vegan "cheese", because he can't be sure of the organicness of anything outside of his own little food co-op.
As for my comfort level, I don't think that's it. We are not vegetarian or anything close, but tofu is one of my main ingredients. I always serve a spicy tofu stir fry when he comes to visit, and just for our own family as well, and he knows I'm really into fresh, in-season produce. While we like a good steak, we don't need meat at every meal. I guess these processed items are for the vegetarians who don't want to hurt animals, but can't give up the idea of eating meat. Like non-alcoholic beer. I just think that if I were to give up meat, I would give it up. Not replace it with some "food" item that approaches plastic in its chemical makeup. |
Anonymous
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People have different values, and I don't think you can assume that vegan or vegetarian = health food nut. Just the same, health food nut does not = vegan or vegetarian.
Clearly, you're a health food nut. Your BIL is a vegetarian. So you have different priorities. |
Anonymous
| People who are just becoming vegan find it easier eating a lot of processed foods which mimic animal proteins. DH and I are vegan, and limit the processed stuff to once a week tops. He might also not want to bother with all the fresh veggies while visiting, obviously the processed foods are much faster to prepare. |
Anonymous
OP is a health food nut? Because she tries to stay away from processed food, and is into fresh, in season produce? By that definition, I'm a health food nut - and anyone who knows me would burst into gales of laughter hearing that! |
Anonymous
if you are dissecting other peoples' meal choices and ingredient lists and typing that shit out on an anonymous forum... then yes, you are a health food nut. die laughing all you want, hippie! |
Anonymous
OP again. I also got a giggle out of the "health food nut" label. Just because I don't buy peaches in February? And the whole point was, isn't it weird that I, a walking "what not to eat" example of every fringe food movement out there, eat a healthier diet than someone who literally thinks about food every waking hour? I think that's weird. |