Plant based Meats

[mark111757 Profile]

This was in my Facebook news feed the other day



I am not a vegan and readily admit that but I wonder if any of this is true, are people supposed to figure it is plant based there is nothing dodgy in it. If that is true I would look at it more closely.

[Pampy Profile]

[Amyw Profile]

Processed food is processed food , whether it contains meat or not . The average cheap sausage in the supermarket contains god knows what. And there's been a fair few "meat " horror stories in the media

I think very few of us can claim not to have any processed food in our diets . Even the condiments we use and most bread we buy contains chemicals, additives and preservatives .

I think a lot of people who have reduced or eliminated meat from their diets do so because of the environmental impact, or cruelty to animals .

Doing my little Veganuary experiment this month, I don't think I've eaten anymore processed food than normal, having vegan sausages where I'd have pork ones before etc. I do find I'm eating a lot more fruit and veg and do generally feel healthier.

[jeral Profile]

As Amyw suggests, I think all of those are already in other foods already, presumably in a purified food-safe incarnation.

Is it the pot calling the kettle black? To make a realistic comparison with fresh meat: Do we know which chemicals go into animal feed? Which antibiotics, medications and growth hormones are given to animals? What some meat is now brined with to improve "mouthfeel and tenderness"?

Was that Facebook photo created by a farming and meat marketing lobby by any chance?

[mark111757 Profile]

Jeral

That is a good question. In this social media age, it is not impossible. Get a copy of photo shop and just about anyone can do it.

[dennispc Profile]

A quick search shows that magnesium carbonate goes into medicines that settle the stomach. Magnesium is found in wholemeal bread, brown rice nuts and so on. The second part of Silent Witness starts in a minute so someone else can have a go at the others!

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Any ingredients legally used in foodstuffs have to be approved for the purpose. Titanium dioxide is used in paint, but also in anything that's required to be whitened, such as salad dressings and toothpaste. Methyl cellulose is a common thickener. Propylene glycol is a carrier in liquid food dyes iirc.

I'd be more worried about the stuff that crops are sprayed with, to be honest.

[jeral Profile]

Yup, re mag carb - it used to be sold as a chemist's box of powder before Rennies were invented. The only chemical I haven't become aware of is ferric phosphate, so pass on that.

The others I am, e.g titanium dioxide in toothpaste, methycellullose in dairy cream concoctions, and non-dairy creamers too I think,. Propylene glycol is a carrier or medium for artificial flavourings which I find leaves a foul aftertaste, though perhaps less so if of a minimal amount.

Must look up ferric phosphate...

Meanwhile, as mark11757 says, anyone could type up the ingredients on virtually anything and say "What???" with the intention of planting Yuck! seeds against products they were trying to garner revulsion against.

[dennispc Profile]

Some of those names popped out to me in relation to when we were selling food colourings for sugar craft. Those were on the side of the little pots, eventually replaced by E numbers - then the panic set in! Customers were returning to the shop complaining they didn’t want to have a product that was full of E numbers. With fixed smiles we explained there were no differences.

Without doing a lot of research I'd guess we know more about what goes into American meat than the UK. The Americans are quite open about using anti-biotics and grow hormones. I hope I'm right in saying growth hormones are banned in this country and anti biotics are only used in specific cases - animal sickness. Does anyone know how well that's monitored?

[dennispc Profile]

Processed food. Amongst the accidental vegan recipes we use are veg soups such as leek and potato. When ready it’s blitzed in a food processor (Magimix). I doubt whether anyone would consider it processed.

I think the term ‘processed food’ came about when health professionals wanted to have a generic word covering ready meals and the like, to distinguish them from ‘real’ food such as fruit and veg. Yesterday I had some left over bacon with my lunch time salad, certainly processed.