Comments on: Not Soy Fast

By: Caroline

Caroline — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:46:27 +0000

Vanessa, awesome article. I’m vegan and its great to see people question all food sources, even soy which is one of my main sources of protein. Totally agree with eating food closest to its natural state! And as for Quorn, it is available in America .. I live in Ohio and its at all the major grocery stores here like Giant Eagle as well as Whole Foods.

By: Vanessa Barrington

Vanessa Barrington — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:34:55 +0000

Thanks for your comments, Caitlin. I’ve been working on a series here at ecoSalon about the problems with soy. I’ve covered the deforestation issue and also slavery in Brazil. Haven’t gotten to the GM issue yet. But you’re right. So many problems with an innocent bean. I’ve heard of Quorn and been curious about it, but we don’t have it here in the states (to my knowledge) we have something called textured vegetable protein, which i think is the same. A really good soy-based meat substitute that’s not heavily processed, but rather fermented, is tempeh. I posted a new recipe for it here today that should go up on Friday.

By: Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Caitlin Fitzsimmons — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:11:52 +0000

Great post! I didn’t realise soy was quite so pervasive in the food we eat, and not just in vegetarian products either.

Another factor with soy is that a lot of it is genetically modified and a lot of it is grown in factory-farm monocultures, including cleared rainforest in Brazil.

It’s used extensively in animal feed for the meat industry, as well as (so I’ve just learned) sneaking it into human food wherever they can.

I agree with you that natural is best. Do you have Quorn in the States? You might have it under another name – it’s vegetable mycoprotein. On the one hand, I try not to eat a lot of meat and Quorn is a low-fat vegetarian protein. On the other hand, it’s highly, highly processed and feels like a fake food so I always feel slightly uncomfortable when I eat it. Especially since it’s not even licensed as a food in Australia (where I’m from)!