Do you love veggie burgers? Many vegetarians swear by veggie burgers, most of which are made by soy, because they believe the fake meat is healthier than animal meat.
Think you’re being healthy by choosing a veggie burger instead of red meat? Think again.
In an effort to make their products as low-fat as possible, many veggie burger manufacturers are turning to a potentially harmful chemical, according to an investigation by the non-profit Cornucopia Institute. It revealed in a recent report that most non-organic veggie burger brands contain a chemical called hexane, which is an EPA-registered air pollutant and neurotoxin.
This lovely chemical is traditionally reserved for shoe glue, leather products and roofing. And now food manufacturers have decided that it would be a cheap and easy thing to use in our veggie burgers as well. Oh, and did I mention that hexane is a bi-product of gasoline?
So why do they use it? Well, they figure that people who buy veggie burgers are generally more health conscious. And, they figure that people who are health conscious won’t want a lot of fat in their food.
So, they soak soybeans in hexane so they can separate the fat from the protein.
According to the Cornucopia Institute’s report, “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.”
That is the horror of non-organic nutrition labels, they may tell you what the ingredient is, but they don’t tell you the chemical process they went through to create it. And,
Most conventional soybeans have also been genetically modified, making them even worse for your health. Unless specifically labeled non-GMO or organic, it is almost definite that a soy ingredient is GMO.
The truth is that even without the hexane issue, any soy that is unfermented — soy milk, tofu, soybean oil, soy veggie burgers, soy infant formula and all the other processed soy products out there all belong to this category — is not a health food and in fact is not a food I would advise eating at all. This is true whether it is “organic” or not.
Unfermented soy products have been linked to everything from reproductive disorders and infertility to cancer as well.
The Cornucopia Institute also revealed some popular veggie burger brands that absolutely do use hexane: Amy’s Kitchen, Boca Burger, Franklin Farms, Garden Burger, It’s All Good, Lightlife, Morningstar Farms, President’s Choice, Soy Boy, Taste Above, Trader Joe’s and Yves Veggie Cuisine.
Brands that do not use any hexane in their veggie burgers are: Helen’s Kitchen, Superburgers by Turtle Island, Tofurky, Wildwood and Morningstar “Made with organic”.
By definition, foods that are 100 percent organic should not contain hexane, but there is a loophole that many food manufacturers are taking advantage of. If a food is labeled “made with organic ingredients” it may contain the chemical.
Given the fact that most veggie burgers on the market are made with processed soy and contaminated with hexane, I do not recommend you eat them.
My favorite burger of all time (non-homemade) is the Sunshine Burger. Rather than try to imitate meat or other burgers, it is a truly wholesome and delicious burger with its own unique taste.
It is based on raw sunflower seeds (no soy or wheat in it) and uses other whole grains and vegetables in it. It contains no funky ingredients — pure and simple ingredients only. I suggest trying it out next time you have the chance.
Want to know more about veggie burgers? Then, click here:
Far Healthier Way To Increase Your Energy Than Those Toxic Veggie Burgers | Natural Health Solutions
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Yours truly, Polly – Organic Gardener
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“Because of concerns around soy protein extracted with hexane, we have eliminated the use of any soy protein ingredient that uses hexane in its processing.
Only four products (some of our veggie burgers) out of over 170 products have ever contained soy protein concentrate. We have replaced soy protein concentrate in these products with organic tofu. Tofu production is similar to cheese making and uses no unnatural ingredients. To see our tofu being made check out this video: http://www.amys.com/about_us/our_kitchen.php#tofu
Our best selling burger, the California Burger, has never contained soy protein of any kind.
Amy’s remains a family owned business and we take great care to make healthful foods with organic ingredients. We welcome communication from our customers and invite you to visit us at http://www.amys.com”
Andy Berliner, CEO and Co-founder of Amy’s Kitchen
This is horrifying, yet oddly unsurprising in a strange way. I’m glad I never decided to eat these and stick with real beef.
What disturbs me the most is the fact that the food industry can do this and get away with it. The EPA or USDA or *somebody* should be pulling the plug on schemes like this, no one should be eating food manufactured in this manner.
WTG Amy’s! Thanks and love you!
This article is disturbing but proves the point of the reason I have never chosen to work in business since I was young – business is all about money and what they can get away with to sell a product. It is very disturbing that a majority of what we ingest is harmful. I hate to say that it is resultant of a free economy and we humans who are unable to be responsible “FOR THE GOOD OF ALL,” with exception, of course (like Amy’s!).
I also want to say that Morningstar Farms products contain maltodextrin and other questionable ingredients so I avoid them. I am so thankful for the manufacturers who give solid consideration to the health and well-being of all, instead of their profits. Blessed be!
Dedicated. Committed. Driven. Focused. Disciplined. Determined. This is how we often describe the effort we put into developing our physiques. In other words, we work hard!
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