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Choose veggie burgers instead of meat for healthful
and ethical eating.
Veggie burgers and other faux meats can be a big help for busy vegans, especially those who are just getting started on their transition to a cruelty-free diet. But are they good for you?
According to recent news reports, some soy-based burgers could contain small amounts of hexane, an organic compound used to remove the fat from soybeans. Most of the hexane evaporates or is recovered during the process, but small residues can be left in some foods.
The concerns come largely from a report published last year by the Cornucopia Institute. This nonprofit organization, which promotes “economic justice for family scale farming,” produces reports devoted to different aspects of organic and sustainable food production. While the reports strive for balance, some of the sources cited regarding nutrition are questionable at best.
Actual research on dangers of ingesting hexane is scarce. In their 2005 report on the issue, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that “only one study was identified in which experimental animals were exposed to n-hexane for an adequate duration.” This study, which linked high doses of hexane to neurological problems in rats, was published in 1980, and had a number of weaknesses according to the EPA.
Animal studies are not good nutrition research
Generally, animal studies aren’t very useful for making dietary recommendations for humans. For example many compounds that occur naturally in healthful foods (like vegetables) are known mutagens and can cause cancer in laboratory animals. Compounds that are toxic to animals (such as aspirin for cats and chocolate for dogs) are often perfectly safe for humans. Based on the very meager available data, it’s impossible to pinpoint any risk to humans from the possible small amounts of hexane in soy products. Even the American Council on Science and Health (which is decidedly not pro-vegetarian) noted that “There’s not enough hexane used in any of these products to cause adverse effects in humans […]”
Vegan diets with or without veggie burgers are still best choice
It’s not difficult to avoid all food additives, of course, if you eat a diet based on whole plant foods—always the best choice for health. Paradoxically though, while focusing on a problem that isn’t known to exist, the Cornucopia Institute promotes animal food consumption, as long as the foods come from small-scale organic farms. But omnivore diets have their own set of health problems and always contribute to animal cruelty (no matter where the food comes from).
Prudence dictates that, to the extent possible, foods should be free of all contaminants. But if the occasional veggie burger can help people move toward a healthful and compassionate vegan diet, the benefits of consuming these foods in moderation are likely to outweigh any unproven risks.
Read more on the pros and cons of meat analogshere.
Be sure to check out my blog The Vegan Dietitian for more information about vegan diets, and please follow me on twitter!
Comments
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Thanks Ginny, after reading that report a while back i checked out the Cornucopia site and they seemed strangely similar to the pro-meat/dairy, anti-vegan/soy weston price "foundation", the lobbyist group behind all the misinformed soy/vegan-bashing of the past decade. Makes one wonder if the two groups have a stronger connection then we know, as both are composed of animal farmers and promote animal farming interests.
Do we really trust what the EPA says? They have been wrong on so many fronts. Even a "little" can go a long way sometimes. Best to eat totally organic and avoid all toxins and chemicals. Made from scratch from bulk organic ingredients is always best!!
All of this is confusing.
Some strict Vegans use
Goya Sazon Jamon flavorings to enhance their recipes,
does it contain hexane too? does it contain actual ham?
Is it really a vegan seasoning?
Tom, Cornucopia definitely cites the Weston A Price foundation for some of their material. I don't know if that means there is an agenda related to that or if they just aren't able to understand good versus bad sources of nutrition info.
Beth, the EPA doesn't take a stand on this as far as I know. But their report is pretty extensive and I doubt that they actually missed any studies. And yes, cooking meals from scratch is always best, but we have to be realistic. Most people use some convenience foods. If we start creating barriers despite a lack of data, we're making it that much harder for people to go vegan.
Sandra, I don't know anything about that product. I don't know if its a seasoning for ham or if it's stock made from ham.
Hexane is also used in the processing of vegetable oils, so there's a good chance that the order of fries sitting next to that "healthy" small-scale organic hamburger also contains hexane. If meat eaters are truly concerned about this issue, they would do well to understand how all of the foods they eat are processed and act accordingly.
I was curious about this issue. Thank you for clearing it up for me. I will continue to eat veggie burgers with joy!
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