Bob
Bob at Wishing Well Sanctuary

Last week we took our little grandchildren on a day trip to Wishing Well Sanctuary in Bradford, Ontario. Our plan was to locate the Sanctuary and then take a little detour for lunch before going back for the tour. I could have, should have taken a picnic lunch , but I wanted to save my energy for the main event. I knew that I would be chasing little grand chiblets around paddocks, rabbit hutches, hen houses and the like. That takes a lot of energy. Buying the food ready made seemed so much easier to me.

Lunch on the Go
Lunch on the Go
Veggie Burger and Fries
Veggie Burger and Fries

Any-hoo! We found a Harvey’s… and stopped in for a Veggie Burger, fries (a salad for me) and a beverage.   Acceptable lunch for Vegans-Right??? We dressed our burgers with vegan condiments like

mustard, ketchup and pickles and dipped the fries in good old reliable Heinz Ketchup.

And then we went on our merry way. But something was nagging at me. Can one assume that Veggie Burgers and their buns (HaHa!) are vegan? And what about the fries? I decided to check it out.

Here is what Harvey’s had to say about the ingredients and cooking practices in said menu items:

June-06-44
Harvey’s

Harvey’s Veggieburger Ingredient Declaration:
Soy Protein concentrate, hydrogenated vegetable oil, soy protein isolate, methylcellulose,natural flavour, malt extract, dried onion, salt, dried garlic, black pepper, spices, beet powder.

The Plain hamburger Bun Ingredients:
Enriched flour, water, glucose-fructose or sugar, *yeast, vegetable oil (soy or canola), salt, calcium propionate, sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate, monoglycerides, calcium sulphate, ammonium chloride, calcium carbonate, ground sesame seeds. May contain traces of sesame seeds and soy

Harvey’s Crispy Fries ingredients:
Potatoes, Partially Hydrogenated Canola Oil, Wheat Flour, Modified Corn Starch, Corn Flour, Salt, Glucose Solids, Autolyzed Yeast, Modified Cellulose, Baking Powder, Colour, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate

Information on Frying Practices:
Harvey’s Crispy Fries and Onion Rings are prepared with, and cooked in, 100% Canola oil.Harvey’s does not fry any products in non-vegetable oils. Fish filets and chicken nuggets are cooked in a separate fryer. However, in case of overflow,fries may be cooked in the chicken and fish fryer.The specifics of our operations prevent us from having dedicated fryers for fish and chicken.

Natural Flavor: ‘To qualify as ‘natural’, a flavour must only be derived from something natural. This can be everything from meat to tree bark, flowers to roots. This essence can then be put through all kinds of processes; oxidation, boiling and so forth, that completely alters it.

Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate (sodium stearoyl lactylate or SSL) is a versatile, FDA approvedfood additive. It is one type of a commercially available lactylate. SSL is non-toxic,[4][5] biodegradable,[6] and typically manufactured using biorenewablefeedstocks.

 

Biorenewable feedstocks: Translation- nonhumans!

Sodium Stearoyl-2-lactylate (aka Lactic Acid) is a nonhuman animal by product, folks-a leftover, once the being is slaughtered and all its useable parts have been dispatched for our primary consumption.This waste/garbage is of no use to the producer and must be disposed of. So what to do with this waste? It is sold for a profit and turned into ingredients to be added to (hidden in) our food supply. It is a huge industry which contributes to the bottom line by lowering the cost of raising and selling nonhumans as food. This savings is passed on to the consumer as an incentive to continue supporting these cruel industries.

If you are disgusted, I don’t blame you. I am too! We all know that Harvey’s is junk food, but we can make an informed decision about whether or not it is okay to indulge from time to time. But Harvey’s is using bread products that contain processed leftover nonhuman parts. What purpose Lactic Acid serves in a bun remains a mystery to me. I have made bread before, delicious bread and it did not contain any rendered nonhuman parts.

And the business about the natural flavor in the Veggie Burger? It is in so many of the packaged products we consume here in North America. Buyer Beware!!!!

I thought I would do a test. This is a loaf of bread my husband enjoys and buys regularly.

Non Vegan Bread
Non Vegan Bread

President’s Choice A L’Europeenne Rustic Grain

The ingredients list starts off okay: Enriched Wheat Flour, water, sunflower seeds, wheat flakes, rye meal, rolled oats….Ingredients many consumers associate with good health. But then come the funny names. I found no fewer than four ingredients that have been derived from leftover nonhuman body parts.
They are Lipase, Acetylated Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono-and Diglycerides, Amylase, Mono and Diglycerides.

 

Pique-Nique
Pique-Nique

Annie’s Vegan View

If you are vegan, watch out for packaged breads. They can pack a punch in the nonhuman by product arena.

If you are mainly concerned about your health, do you really want to be eating these ingredients?

If you consider yourself to be an informed consumer, do you feel you are being duped? – a repository for the leftovers of nonhuman animal industry.

I encourage you to show your displeasure by being informed, by reading labels and by refusing to buy these products.

I like to live and learn. Picnic lunches are looking more attractive to me. I think that I will bother for the next occasion.

May all beings be happy and free.

Anne

 

NONHUMAN ANIMAL PRODUCTS IN OUR FOOD SUPPLY

2 thoughts on “NONHUMAN ANIMAL PRODUCTS IN OUR FOOD SUPPLY

  • June 8, 2014 at 6:43 pm
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    I must admit: I find this very very very very frustrating. I always think to ask at restaurants whether the veggie burger has egg (it very often does – as a binder, I guess) or dairy, and the same about the bun. I’ve actually asked this question at Harvey’s before, and been told it was a-ok. Obviously, I didn’t ask about “natural flavour” or other animal by-product ingredients. GAR.

    I find it especially frustrating when restaurants call something a “veggie” anything when it actually has animal products in it. For example, I have often been told that the veggie soup is made in chicken or beef broth. I suppose the more we ask, the more informed restaurants can become. I’ve also practiced a bit of acceptance around the idea that mistakes will be made (both by me and by those providing me with food), but it’s a yucky kind of feeling…

    Reply
  • June 9, 2014 at 10:08 pm
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    Hi Allison,
    Thanks for your comments. I understand that it is impossible to always eat only 100% plant based foods even though this is my goal. Restaurants and waiters may not fully understand what vegan means and most likely not even know what all the funny sounding ingredients are. I am always having to look these ingredients up and even that is no guarantee that I will remember.
    I set my intention and I do my best. But I am definitely going to rethink ordering any bread products when I am eating out.
    I really resent the fact that selling for profit the non edible remains of nonhumans in order to deal with the mounting waste and to decrease the cost to consumers of a steak or a chicken thigh, is such a big industry. I am very sad for the nonhumans. It seems like the final indignity.
    Take care. Vegan Grammie Annie

    Reply

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