Friday, April 4, 2014

Hidden Evils of Veggie Burgers ("It's People!")

I like veggie burgers and eat them from time-to-time, even though I'm not a vegetarian. I probably feel better about myself when I do, too.  But I had an inkling that, if I Google'd the mainstream brands, like "MorningStar Farms," or "Boca" burgers, or "Gardenburger," I'd quickly uncover all sorts of 'evils' allegedly lurking in these seemingly innocuous, well-meaning foods.  And so I did.

According to a 2010 report from the Cornucopia Institute HERE, all three brands use hexane. "Hexane is a byproduct of gasoline refining. It is a neurotoxin and a hazardous air pollutant. Soybean processors use it as a solvent—a cheap and efficient way of extracting oil from soybeans..." There are apparently other alleged 'evils' as well, which I read about in detail HERE, including the inclusion of  Textured Vegetable Protein (or TVP), MSG, and Genetically Modified ingredients.

I'm not sure how many of these 'sins' actually bother me personally. And that's probably just as well because my personal favorite veggie burger, the MorningStar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger, apparently distinguishes itself by incorporating all of the above, and more. In mitigation (I suppose) here's a brief You Tube video of a woman who "loves" them, and who eats two a day. (Notice the pyramid of MorningStar boxes piled on her range.)  But is that a toilet in the bottom right corner?

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