Being lactose intolerant nowadays is so common that if you are tolerant to lactose people will think you are either an alien or a cow.
The other day I was watching The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue, it is a small movie/show created by the same producer who did Kitchen Over Knives. In this movie there is a man ?Ryp Esselstyn? that goes to two different houses and teaches them how to eat a healthy diet, as he is doing that, the first step of the process was going in people?s kitchen and throw out all the unhealthy foods.
Ryp began searching the kitchen cabinets, he focused on sugary products such as pop, refined grains and candy bars, when he got to the Coco Pops I was ready to change the channel, I figured this was too basic for me since I have done all the things he mentioned and beyond.
However, as he went into the fridge, he took out the Daya cheese and the Earth Balance butter, that is when I fixed my body posture, perked up my ears and raised the volume. I couldn’t believe my ears as he mentioned how bad they are for you, so I began doing my own research in disbelief this man has dissed the only two things that helped me ?feel normal?!
The misleading advertisement
I went on the Daiya website to find out what the fuss was all about, I was glad to see the words again 0 trans fat, 0 sugars, 0 cholesterol which is what prompted me to buy the product in the first place. Then I looked at the list of ingredients for my favorite package.
Pepperjack Shreds
Ingredients: Filtered water, tapioca flour, expeller pressed non-GMO canola and/or safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein, salt, inactive yeast, vegetable glycerin, xanthan gum, vegan natural flavours, lactic acid, (vegan, for flavour), spices, garlic, titanium dioxide (a naturally occurring mineral), yeast extract.
On the website underneath the ingredients, there was a link which says ?learn about our ingredients? once I clicked on it it listed all the benefits of leading a vegan life style and eating allergy friendly foods, it also claimed their foods had nothing artificial.
Being married do a man that I deem to be a MASTER at the art of ?deflecting? (still love you babe) has its benefits, one of them is that gives you motivation to spot out bullshit it by checking it out for yourself.
Translation of ingredients: clean water, starch, canola or safflower fat, coconut fat, processed (we can?t say it?s not GMO) pea protein, processed sodium chloride, sugar eating fungus yeast, carbohydrate(glycerin), fermented sugar, natural flavours (?), vegan milk acid, unknown spices, garlic, a natural inert insoluble material used to paint plastic and bleach food, glutamates (MSG)?s wife.
The Summary
What it comes down to is this bag is full of Trans fat which is partially hydrogenated oils, carbs and starch which are not sugar YET but once you digest them they will all turn into SUGAR! It has 300 mg of salt in 1/4 of a cup, and only 1 gram of fiber and 1 % protein, finally 2% calcium and 2% iron (when taken together calcium cancels the absorption of iron) turning the nutritional value to basically nothing. Its a string of fat, starch and salt. How is that good for you?
So I guess if you would read the ingredient labels for what they actually are and not what they appear to be, they wouldn?t be as appealing and you would opt to a healthier choice. Obviously the advertising industry has their job cut out for them and require a little help by using the older tricks in the books such as writing ingredients as acronyms and creating new words that a regular shopper on the go would not make the time to question, and or research.
The 3 LIES
Through the art of webdesign and persuasion they have done a great job at alluding and luring people to buy their product. The thing that makes me truly angry is their 3 main slogans floating on their their website.
1. It is better for your health
Sure if you compare it to people eating McDonald?s and steak every day, it is not THAT BAD. There are barely any nutritional values in their products but as long as you don’t eat saturated fats and sugar than you are fine! Are you kidding me? Just because your product is vegan based it does not mean it is natural, oil does not hydrolyze itself, pea protein doesn’t just come out of the pea pod as a powder, glycerin doesn?t just happen, and glutamate (yeast extract) is not supposed to be eaten! The raw truth is that these are vegan ingredients that have been messed around with in a lab, and they are claiming to be healthy. In their mind as long as we are not touching the cows or sending you child into an anaphylactic state this is good for you.
2. Better for the environment
Liar, liar your whole corporation is on fire! Just because they are not milking animals it doesn’t mean their ALTERNATIVE is better for the environment. Did you know that their cheese slices still contain palm oil? For those who have no idea the extraction of palm oil is responsible for causing tropical deforestation, extensive carbon emissions and for contributing to global warming (if you believe in global warming).
3. Better For The Food System
I have to directly quote them on here sorry
?As the demand for global food resources grows, we remain focused on being part of a sustainable solution. A delicious plant-based solution that we believe is better for you, better for animal welfare and better for the future of our planet.?
We believe it is better for you? Well please do allow me to make that choice! Yes it is better for animals but not for me or the planet, but thank you for your suggestion. Keep regurgitating this lie to everyone.
You are not alone
Before making a response bare in mind this post has come from someone who has had major food intolerance all her life , and only God knows the pain I have gone through. I do think it is ridiculous that there is so many allergies out there and it is actually scary how the list keeps growing.
My mother had tears once because she could not make me lasagna and one day she was so proud she made it lactose free using packaged gluten and lactose free products. I never go to the staff room and join my colleagues during socials or during ?treat day?, the initial idea of being there truly angered me and made be bitter. Now when I feel like it I anticipate when they are having something going on and bring some foods myself. Trust me, I get it.
I can only imagine parents of young children feeling sad they cannot join the rest of the class or family and have to eat totally different foods making them feel like that is their doom forever.
But it is not true, look at the produce section in your store. Raise your children to eat organic non packaged whole foods, if we keep accepting these lab created (fake) alternatives the new generation will build even more allergies and intolerance. Learn side effects of alternative packaged foods you eat, it will make you want to eat an apple at the end of the day. I just learned not long ago my long journey of gluten free breads have been PACKED with sugar and I was wondering why I kept having cellulite, I kept saying ?but I am not eating sugar or wheat bread? hahaha. My main focus was that I could eat it without having a bad reaction, that was my goal.
Be smart, don?t let them fool you
The sad truth is corporations like these always try to play on people?s heart strings and they have truly scored this time, touching the lives of people who can?t eat dairy, parents whom have children with allergies, animals lovers, and environmental people. I don?t know if i should be impressed or terrified.
My take on it, if you have allergies or an intolerance the more the reason to stay away from products like these.
How do you think we got ourselves in this ugly mess in the first place?
Cheer up, and if you don?t want to look at the bright side, look at the funny side. (My very own quote)
Love,
Sprouty
PS, for those and Vegans/Vegetarians out there that are responding to my blog with very transparent motives?. this is not an attack on veganism/alternative foods. I am NOT AGAINST VEGANISM. This is the straight out truth about products that are being sold as healthier alternatives when they cause worse health problems in the long run. Before responding ask yourself if you have been engineered to eat natural food or a SCIENCE PROJECT made in a lab?
I am all for veganism, really, I love cashew cheese, just do not sell me crap and tell me it is good for me simply because it is vegan. My standards are higher than that and so should be yours.
