1) GUIDE TO SOY MILKS

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

An upcoming issue of [ Vegetarian Journal ] will include an article about plant milks. We’d like to give you a sneak peak at what we found about soy milks. To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, go to [ http://www.vrg.org/member/ ]

We were able to find more than 80 different varieties of soymilk on grocery aisles and in the refrigerated section of grocery stores. In general, soymilks have more protein, and often more calories than other plant milks, making them a good choice for people who have higher protein needs – pregnant and lactating women, older people, elite athletes, and others. For some children, soymilks can be a very easy way to get in some extra calories and protein.

2) GELLAN GUM IN MANY NON-DAIRY BEVERAGES IS ALL-VEGETABLE

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

The VRG noticed “gellan gum” listed on the ingredient statements of several popular non-dairy beverages including Tree of Life®, Silk® and Pacific® products.

We asked KeHE® the parent company of Tree of Life® about its Vanilla Almond Beverage. We received a call back from a KeHE® customer service representative (KeHE® is the parent company) in August 2013 that the gellan gum in their almond beverage “…is not made of animal products…gellan gum is made from a bacterial culture [and] used as a thickening agent…It is a non-GMO product.” The ingredient statement can be seen here: [ http://www.iherb.com/Tree-of-Life-Unsweetened-Vanilla-Almond-Beverage-32-fl-oz-946-ml/42622 ]

3) MCDONALD’S CANADA LAUNCHES MEATLESS SIGNATURE MCWRAPS®

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS VRG Research Director

Available only in Canada, Santa Fe and Mediterranean Signature McWraps® debuted in late August 2013. The VRG spoke with Ontario Customer Relations Specialist Diana in September 2013 to find out more information about the new wraps. We were told that both wraps can be made to order without milk- and egg-containing components such as the cheeses and sauces. All of the components’ ingredients are listed on McDonald’s Canada website:
[ http://www1.mcdonalds.ca/NutritionCalculator/IngredientFactsEN.pdf ]

4) REVIEW: GRILLS GONE VEGAN, BY TAMASIN NOYES

Reviewed by Debra Wasserman

What I like about this book is that instructions are given for both outdoor and indoor grills. Apartment dwellers can enjoy grilled vegan cuisine, too!

Chapter 1 offers helpful information for those that are new to grilling. The last chapter of the book includes recipes for marinades and other condiments.

5) GUIDE TO RICE, OAT AND OTHER GRAIN MILKS

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Rice milk is a popular plant milk, with usage ranking below soymilk and almond milk but ahead of other plant milks. Rice milk is the most common grain-based plant milk. Other grains used commercially to make milks include oats, quinoa, and a mixture of 7 grains. Grain milks are similar, from a calorie standpoint, to almond milk with 45 to 160 calories in an 8-ounce serving. As is true for other milks, flavored milks (vanilla, chocolate, carob, for example) will have more calories than unsweetened or original milks. Rice milk provides little protein and is typically lower in sodium than almond milk. Rice milk’s consistency is often thinner than soymilk or almond milk. Oat milk and 7-grain milk are higher in protein than rice milk but do not have as much protein as soymilk. Most grain milks have vitamin D, calcium, and vitamin B12 added although some products are not enriched and not all contain vitamin B12. If you’re relying on plant milks as a source of vitamin B12, be sure to check the product label.

Brown rice is the base for all brands of rice milk that we found. Pacific Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods 365 brand are made with organic rice. Some varieties of Rice Dream are organic – this is indicated on the package. Pacific oat milks are organic as are their 7-grain milks and Dream Blends’ products. An upcoming issue of Vegetarian Journal will have more details about grain milks.

6) SHOP AT VEGETARIAN SITE AND SUPPORT THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP OUTREACH AND RESEARCH

For the month of October, TheVegetarianSite.com [ http://www.thevegetariansite.com ] will donate a portion of every sale to The Vegetarian Resource Group. TheVegetarianSite.com offers vegan clothing, accessories, footwear, personal care products, groceries, gift baskets and more. You were going to buy this stuff anyway, so why not get cool veggie stuff AND support our outreach by buying from TheVegetarianSite.com? Thank you in advance to TheVegetarianSite.com and you for your generosity!

7) PARENT CONCERNED ABOUT NUTRITION INFORMATION PRESENTED IN HER CHILD'S SCHOOL -- VEGAN OPTIONS TO DAIRY

A parent wrote that at her son's middle school they were going to teach nutrition using a dairy industry lesson plan. Her family is vegan and wanted to know how to address her concerns.

ANSWER: It's a good idea for you to meet with the teacher and present your concerns. One approach that may be effective is to point out that the dairy program promotes its products, so its lessons will include dairy products. Not everyone is able to use dairy products due to allergies or lactose intolerance or is in an ethnic/cultural group that traditionally uses dairy products. And there are those that do not include dairy for other reasons. Providing sound nutritional information about alternatives to dairy would be a fair and balanced approach. The USDA and US Dept of Health and Human Services included vegan (non-dairy) meal plans in the 2010 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Perhaps these could be presented as an alternative (see
[ http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/Appendices.pdf ],appendix
We produce a vegan MyPlate which could be used:
[ http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/MyVeganPlate.pdf ]
as a tool.

Including information about alternatives to dairy and meat would certainly enhance this unit, especially since many middle schoolers are curious about vegetarian diets and need sound information. Here is a sample of the educational information which we have:
[ http://www.vrg.org/family/kidsindex.htm ].
You may also want to join our veg-parents list to contact other parents who may have had similar experiences:
[ http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/vrgparents/info ].
We hope this is helpful.

8) DONATE TO VRG THROUGH THE COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN (CFC)

If you are a federal government employee, you can support The Vegetarian Resource Group through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Look for us under Health & Medical Research Charities of America.

Please also remember VRG in other workplace fund drives, matching gifts, etc.!

9) VRG'S VEGAN VIETNAMESE DINNER IN HOUSTON, OCT 20

We're hosting a vegan networking dinner during the annual meeting of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics! The restaurant is walking distance to the Houston Convention Center. VRG's Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels and VRG staff will participate in a discussion.

Menu subject to change. Please reserve soon as there is limited seating and the restaurant would like a count in advance. Please send $25 to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203. Or pay online at [ https://www.vrg.org/donate ] and write in Th Dinner and the attendees'names in the comments. Or call (410) 366-8343 between 9 AM and 5 PM Eastern time, Monday to Friday to pay with a credit card. Refunds only if we can replace your seat.

10) VRG'S PRE-THANKSGIVING VEGAN POTLUCK IN BALTIMORE

We hope you will join VRG and Vegan Drinks at the 32nd Annual Vegan Pre-Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner on Sunday November 24, 2013 at 5:00 P.M. The dinner will be held at North Baltimore Mennonite Church in Roland Park, 4615 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210. Vegetarians, vegans, and the merely curious are invited! $4 per person, children under age 18 are free. Please bring a vegan dish (and serving utensil) that serves four as a contribution from each member of your party. Write ingredients of the dish on an index card to accommodate special diets. Guests are encouraged to bring reusable dishes and utensils to reduce waste. A vegetarian canned food drive is taking place the same night. Consider donating!

Volunteers needed on the day of the event for set-up and clean-up. To volunteer or for more information contact The VRG at [email protected] or call us at (410) 366-8343. RSVP not necessary!

11) BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR

The Vegetarian Resource Group greatly appreciates the support given by our Monthly Donors. You can join our monthly giving group with a minimum gift of just $10 a month by going to www.vrg.org/donate. You will be part of a network of givers who support our outreach efforts on an ongoing basis. These donations allow us to continue vegan education in a wide variety of venues including schools, doctor and dietitian offices, libraries, various professional conferences, animal rights events, health fairs, environmental festivals, and much more. Thank you for your support!

12) JOB AVAILABLE IN DECEMBER, 2013

Vegan group seeks Jack or Jill of all trades good at multi tasking for part-time job 20 - 25 hours per week in Baltimore, Maryland. Position starts in December or January. Staff person clerically and physically ships vegan books, Vegetarian Journal, and other educational materials throughout the country. Does the billing, packing, mailing and marketing of items to consumers and wholesalers. Answers phone and e-mails. Coordinates volunteers doing booths, events, and other activities around the country. Entrepreneurial personality helpful. Please send resume, writing sample, and cover letter addressing your short term and long term goals, interests, vegetarian and vegan knowledge, salary requirements, skills strengths, and challenges to [email protected]

13) CHIPOTLE

According to the Huffington Post, nationally Chipotle will soon no longer make their pinto beans with bacon, and the beans will be suitable for vegetarians. The black beans are presently suitable for vegans.

14) DEFOAMERS IN COMMERCIAL SUGAR PROCESSING ARE NOT ANIMAL-DERIVED

by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

An online reader asked The VRG if cane or beet sugar processing involves any sort of defoamer like maple syrup production does. Defoamers (also known as defoaming agents or antifoaming agents) reduce or eliminate existing foam produced during manufacture. Foam generation is a common occurrence in the processing of many foods (such as vegetables) and beverages (including fruit juices) where proteins or starches are present. Foam is also produced when cleaning food items such as in egg-washing.

According to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many additives are approved as defoamers in food and beverage production (with some limitations): [ http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=173.340 ]

Among the FDA-approved defoamers (or ingredients permitted to be in defoamers because they have a functional role to play) are the following:

• dimethylpolysiloxane
• formaldehyde
• mineral oil
• polyethylene glycol
• polyoxyethylene 40 monostearate
• polysorbate 60, 65
• propylene glycol alginate
• silicon dioxide

Other defoamers (or ingredients permitted to be in defoamers because they have a functional role to play) listed by the FDA are “limited to use in processing in beet sugar and yeast” include:

• aluminum stearate
• calcium stearate
• fatty acids
• isopropyl alcohol
• magnesium stearate
• oleic acid
• petrolatum
• polypropylene glycol
• soybean oil fatty acids
• tallow

The VRG asked sugar and defoamer companies in September 2013 if any defoamers used today on a commercial basis in sugar production had been derived from animal ingredients such as tallow or animal-derived fatty acids (such as stearic or oleic acid both of which could be vegetable- or animal-derived). The sugar companies said no animal-derived ingredients were used as defoamers to process sugar once it arrived in their plants.

A senior level director at American Sugar Refining Group (one of the largest cane sugar companies in North America) told us by email:

In the refinery, we use a product…[that] is an ester of coconut oil. The raw sugar mill (which produces raw sugar that we refine) may use other approved products as well, but I’m not familiar with them.

Looking further into defoamers that are derived from coconut oil, we learned that one produced by Lambent Technologies may be used in cane or sugar beet processing. Specifically, it “aids cane or beet sugar crystallization and improves purity, increases exhaustion of final molasses, and overcomes problems resulting from hard-to-handle particulate.” [ http://www.petroferm.com/lambent/home.asp?Category_ID=241 ]

The VRG also contacted National Sugar Marketing LLC which sells sugar derived from sugar beets. A technical manager unequivocally told us by phone that they “absolutely do not” use animal ingredients as defoamers when processing sugar beets. Theirs are derived from vegetable or mineral ingredients. They do not use common synthetic ingredients such as silicon dioxide or dimethylpolysiloxane.

An employee from the Organic Defoamer Group told us when we called about their defoamers:

None that we sell are animal-derived…The kosher and halal trend means companies stay away from animal ingredients…[even though] animal fat is a good defoamer…Vegetable fatty acids are our most common ingredient.”

A lab technician at Emerald Performance Materials told us by phone that “none are from animal ingredients…they’re…synthetic mostly from petrochemicals…[they may] begin with fatty acids from vegetable oil.”

A Tramfloc, Inc. sales manager with 27 years of experience stated that their defoamers are “free of animal ingredients.”

When we asked the British company Accepta if it manufactured an all-vegetable defoamer that is not blended with a petrochemical, a representative replied that their product Accepta 2903 “has no mineral oil or animal oil content,” is “considered to be readily biodegradable,” and is “environmentally friendly.”

We learned from various companies during the course of research for this article that for sugar beets, there is an initial defoamer used to wash the beets coming in from the field then a second defoamer used after beets are sliced. The second defoamer is often a synthetic ingredient which is “significantly more expensive” than the first. Some residual defoamer is left in the final product although an estimation of how much is left could not be made.