Wired Exposes Tofurky…and Fig Newmans
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The Nov 2011 issue of Wired magazine contains a short blurb on Tofurky. The article, placed next to an even shorter piece on how to cook actual turkeys, describes how Tofurky roasts are made, from the beginning, when the soy is tested for GM proteins (if positive, the product is rejected), to the end, where after a slow steaming process the tofurky is tested in an artificial mouth – the Volodkevich Bite Jaws. (see p. 40). It is processed food, to be sure, but I found nothing in this article to put me off my favorite veg meat. It’s reassuring to know that Turtle Foods does take care in creating this product.
A couple of pages later, we come to “what’s inside Fig Newmans”. The cookies investigated here are the wheat-free, dairy-free Fig Newmans. Nobody ever said they are health food, but the article points out that, in addition to the oils and sugars, they contain xanthum gum, which it says is made from ground-up cell walls of a particular type of bacteria. Really? I had to check, of course. According to the Bob’s Red Mill website:
Gum, Xanthan is used by people who are allergic to gluten to add volume and viscosity to bread and other gluten-free baked goods. It is made from a tiny microorganism called Xanthomonas campestris and is a natural carbohydrate.
I think I’ll pass on the Fig Newmans from now on.
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Editor’s note November 30, 2011: The author’s dislike of zanthum gum is personal and does not reflect the views of other authors at this website. For the record, bacteria are NOT animals and zanthum gum IS vegan.
hmmmm. didn’t know that about xanthan gum, thanks for the heads up. apparently “Is xanthan gum vegan?” is an open question.
Yes. I thought it was but now I don’t. Another one: B-12 always comes from bacteria, so it’s an animal product…but the bacteria simply make it, they don’t die for it.
Where do you draw the line on bacteria? We kill bacteria every time we shower, every load of laundry, every time we sanitize the counter…? We kill it by washing of produce, or by heating food to a certain temperature so that it doesn’t make us sick.
I’m going to make the strong argument that eating bacteria is fine for vegans. They are NOT animals (basic biology, they’re in a whole different kingdom!), and I know of no evidence that they suffer. Yes they’re alive but so are plants. So is yeast. Anything cultured has bacteria in it (see: tempeh, sauerkraut). Trying not to eat bacteria is, basically, nonsense, though I do sympathize with the visceral “ick.”
“Where do you draw the line on bacteria?”
interesting question, there are many aspects to this, seems a complicated enough question. all of the animals, including humans have a symbiotic relationships with bacteria, in fact they live and thrive in your digestive tract aka gut flora. it’s a classic symbiotic relationships that runs throughout the entire animal, microorganism and plant kingdoms.
I’m not sure I’ve ever had Fig Newmans. They’re certainly not a staple in my home. But I wouldn’t have a problem eating them. I eat other foods that contain bacteria like sourdough bread. In the case of eating bacteria, it’s not so much a case of killing them as it is a case of “rehoming” them
I apologize for the mistake: bacteria are indeed in a separate group, neither plants nor animals. I know that I have eaten them in many forms and of course I know that they are everywhere. Somehow the idea of eating their crushed shells, to me, seems different from eating the products they make. But maybe it really is the “ick” factor that I am reacting to!
Convenient vegan, bacteria are eaten by vegans for the same reason onions are eaten by some vegans. Veganism is not about only eating the products of organisms and not killing any organisms in the process. Some religious beliefs forbid eating onions to avoid killing organisms reason and allow milk for the same reason.
Veganism is not so much a belief system as a rational life choice. To me, veganism is minimizing or eliminating the consumption of products that promote suffering directly or indirectly. Dietary vegans who wear animal products and apply animal products as cosmetics are really just vegans who are only (so far) concerned with minimizing their own suffering.
There are degrees of vegans along a range of rational life choices. Some vegans have no problem with conventional produce as it is not as damaging as animal production and can in many cases have a low impact (due to low erosion, water use) on the environment depending on the management of the farm(s). Others choose organic food or further choose organic foods from farms they feel they can trust. Some vegans take it as far as growing some/most/all of their own food using age-old “green manure” veganic compost and water-conscious irrigation techniques.
Blocked vegetarians generally just want an excuse for why the vegan choice is not perfect. Bacteria or microscopic insects are often used as the example of an imperfection concerning veganism. People use this same imperfection example tactic to pick apart each other’s political ideologies. Veganism is not a political ideology as there are vegans in all corners of political ideologies. Veganism is a rational life choice that can be adopted by anyone.
I can’t see any difference between eating xantham gum and eating vegan yoghurt. They are both cultured microorganisms.
Wow, Im baffled at the scientific ignorance shown here. It always amazes me when even vegans dont understand basic taxonomy or cladistics and think bacteria or fungi are “animals”. Bacteria are animals? Sorry but no. Xanthan gum scary or not vegan. Again nope, its a common, safe, & natural ingredient. So please tell me specifically why you would avoid a product like Fig Newmans for containing xanthan gum? Is it really just the ick factor? You eat bacteria all the time, you inhale it all the time. Do you find the idea of eating yeast which is a fungus icky as well?
Good grief! I have apologized for saying that about the bacteria! I don’t know why, but I have long thought that bacteria are tiny animals, honestly! For a science-minded person like me, this is embarrassing. But I get it now.
Skeptical, everyone is allowed to be grossed out by whatever they want.
And you well know that there are numerous arguments about taxonomy. Example: some “vegans” want to eat honey or oysters because they don’t want to acknoweldge that those animals’s nervous systems might actually result in a pain sensation for the animal. Those “vegans” would rather classify bees and oysters as plants, or bacteria.
“Skeptical, everyone is allowed to be grossed out by whatever they want.”
Im just saying it doesn’t help veganism when we present perfectly harmless vegan ingredients (and quality vegan products) as something to be avoided. The interestingness of xanthan gum could have been presented in less sensational and negative manner, I fear posts like this may instill the idea that xanthan gum is bad in a few people’s heads. We all know vegans who are looking for the next new thing to boycott.
But are you really grossed out by xanathan gum because its bacteria or just cause you are unfamiliar with it and maybe not comfortable with ingredients with “chemically” sounding names? What about other sources of bacteria in your diet, like soy/rice yogurt?
“some “vegans” want to eat honey or oysters because they don’t want to acknoweldge that those animals’s nervous systems might actually result in a pain sensation for the animal. Those “vegans” would rather classify bees and oysters as plants, or bacteria.”
This is an example of differing opinions on the controversial aspects of nociception in certain less complex animals, its not reclassifying them in a different kingdom. Simply calling an oyster a plant is not only scientifically inaccurate it misses the point that its not species membership that matters in ethical issues, its individual capacities and interests. Even IF bacteria were classified as animals they would lack all relevant capacities and interests.
Skeptical, would you like to submit a guest post on exactly that issue? I’ll gladly publish it.
Furthermore, xanthan gum is not even bacteria themselves, it is a BYPRODUCT made by the bacteria.