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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Which Veggie Burgers Were Made With a Neurotoxin?
  • Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:09:51 -0600


"Nearly every major ingredient in conventional soy-based infant formula is
hexane extracted."


Which Veggie Burgers Were Made With a Neurotoxin?
http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/04/which-veggie-burgers-contain-neurotoxin
— By Kiera Butler
| Mon Apr. 12, 2010 2:30 AM PDT

UPDATE: Veggie burger rumors are flying! Some readers and other news
organizations have alleged that the study I wrote about on Monday was funded
by the pro-meat, anti-soy group the Weston A. Price Foundation. But this
morning, I spoke with Cornucopia Institute director Mark Kastel, who said
that the Weston A. Price Foundation did not contribute any funding to the
"Behind the Bean" (pdf) study. More here.

UPDATE: Readers' questions about veggie burgers and hexane answered here.

This is about the time of year when I start keeping packages of veggie
burgers in the freezer, just in case of an impromptu barbecue. In the past, I
haven't had much fake meat brand loyalty: I've found that once I smother my
hunk of textured vegetable protein in barbeque sauce, all soy patties are
pretty much created equal. But after reading a recent investigation by the
Cornucopia Institute, I'm going to be a lot more picky: The food and
agriculture nonprofit found that most non-organic veggie burgers currently on
the market are made with the chemical hexane, an EPA-registered air pollutant
and neurotoxin.

In order to meet the demands of health-conscious consumers, manufacturers of
soy-based fake meat like to make their products have as little fat as
possible. The cheapest way to do this is by submerging soybeans in a bath of
hexane to separate the oil from the protein. Says Cornucopia Institute senior
researcher Charlotte Vallaeys, "If a non-organic product contains a soy
protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, or texturized vegetable protein,
you can be pretty sure it was made using soy beans that were made with
hexane."

If you've heard about hexane before, it was likely in the context of
gasoline—the air pollutant is also a byproduct of gas refining. But in 2007,
grain processors were responsible for two-thirds of our national hexane
emissions. Hexane is hazardous in the factory, too: Workers who have been
exposed to it have developed both skin and nervous system disorders.
Troubling, then, that the FDA does not monitor or regulate hexane residue in
foods. More worrisome still: According to the report, "Nearly every major
ingredient in conventional soy-based infant formula is hexane extracted."

The Cornucopia Institute found that a number of popular veggie burgers were
made with hexane. The list (pdf, page 37, and below) is longer than you might
think:

Amy's Kitchen

Boca Burger, conventional

Franklin Farms

Garden Burger

It’s All Good Lightlife

Morningstar Farms

President’s Choice

Taste Above

Trader Joe's

Yves Veggie Cuisine
-------------------------------
Hexane-free products:

Boca Burgers "Made with organic soy"

Helen's Kitchen

Morningstar "Made with organic"

Superburgers by Turtle Island

Tofurky

Wildwood

Also worth noting: Products labeled "organic" aren't allowed to contain any
hexane-derived ingredients, but that rule doesn't apply to foods that are
labeled "made with organic ingredients." For more on soy sourcing, plus a
list of popular "made with organic ingredients"-labeled protein bars that are
made with hexane, read the Cornucopia Institute's full study, "Behind the
Bean."





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