Current issue: January 2002

Food for Health: Going Vegetarian!

Sugar and Vegetarian Diets

Staff Pick

Why are more Americans than ever becoming vegetarian, or eating less meat? There are a variety of reasons - health issues, environmental concerns, moral and religious beliefs, economics, and taste preferences. There are many types or levels of vegetarianism, from those who simply do not eat meat, to vegans, who do not eat any animal products, including eggs, honey or dairy products.

A plant-based diet makes a lot of sense today – and it does not have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Many people who are vegetarian today started by cutting down on the meat-based meals they ate, then gradually eliminated meat from their diet completely. It’s easier to make the change than ever, with more information available, and a great variety of meat alternatives we will discuss below. As an added bonus, Dr. Michael Gregor, who appeared at the Oprah Winfrey Meat Defamation Trial in Texas, will be holding a free Vegetarian event at Harvest in Cambridge from 6 – 8 PM on February 12. He has visited us before, and the event promises to be fun – and tasty!

Are well-planned vegetarian diets healthier for you? Most studies agree they are. Vegetarians generally consume less fat, especially saturated fat and cholesterol. Plant-based diets generally increase consumption of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and fiber. These benefits have been shown to decrease many health concerns, from heart disease to cancer and diabetes.

There are many environmental reasons to cut down or eliminate meat from your diet. We understand we no longer live in a world of infinite resources, and one of the most important is clean water. One pound of meat takes 2,500 to 3,000 gallons of water, whereas a pound of wheat takes about 25 gallons of water. Meat uses over 20 times the amount of land to grow the same amount of protein as soybeans. Pollution caused by raising livestock is significant, both from growing grain to feed cattle, and from the waste produced by the animals. Add to this overgrazing of land (much of it public), global warming caused by methane gas, and the significant pollution of many bodies of water - including the Mississippi - caused by runoff from farms, and you have significant environmental impact.

Well-planned vegetarian diets need to replace meat sources of protein, calcium, iron, zinc, and vitamin B-12, but this can easily be done. You should check in with your health care provider first. Protein needs can be met by adding nuts and/or legumes (including soy beans and soy products) to your diet. Calcium is abundant in many dark green leafy vegetables, such as kale, mustard greens, bok choy, and broccoli, as well as fortified orange juice and soymilk. Iron, whose absorption is enhanced by vitamin C, is contained in tofu, whole grains and cereals, and many vegetables. Zinc is available in many dried beans, nuts, and tofu. B-12 may be the only place where a supplement is needed, although today you can find many foods that are fortified with added B-12.

How can you start to change your diet? There are books, websites, vegetarian groups, and other resources out there to help you plan a healthy diet. There are also a wide variety of " meat-alternative" products that have come onto the market that can ease your lifestyle change. Meat-alternative products are one of the fastest growing segments in the supermarket business, with projected sales of 1 billion next year, up from 250 million in 1998. Besides plain old tofu, which is inexpensive and picks up the flavor of whatever sauce or flavoring you use, we sell a variety of frozen and refrigerated vegetarian burgers. We have Amy’s, Lightlife, Boca burger, Gardenburger, even a "chicken" pattie by Natural Touch made from okara, the fiber left over from soy beans after soy milk is made. We have meatless hot dogs such as Not Dogs, Tofu Pups, and Soysage. A product named Veat, made with wheat gluten and soy, is one of the fastest sellers in the meat replacement category – and a favorite of vegetarians and meat eaters alike. You can buy sliced "meats" from Lightlife and Yves - there is the even a vegetarian bacon called Fakin’ Bacon. We have TVP (textured vegetable protein), which many use as a substitute for ground meat in recipes. We even carry vegetarian egg replacer for cooking and baking from Ener G Foods.

We also carry many milk and dairy replacements. There is an incredible variety of soy and rice milks, plain and flavored – including Pacific Coffee and Strawberry soy milk. There are also many dairy free cheeses – cheddar, mozzarella, jack and more - from Soyco, Soymage, Say Kaas and others. We carry Tofutti "cream" cheese and Sour Supreme sour "cream", ice "cream" from Tofutti and Soy Delicious, soy yogurts from Silk and Wholesoy – even a dairy free macaroni and cheese from Roads End Organics.

If you decide to change your diet, you can do it all at once or gradually – try a couple meat free days a week. We have some great new products to help you, and January’s Free Recipes can help you get started.

back to top

Why do vegans avoid white sugar? Here are the facts, so people concerned with animal products can make informed decisions about their diet.

I have often heard it said that white sugar may contain the remains of animal bones. This is a concern of vegans and some vegetarians. Why would animal bones be in sugar? It turns out animal bone is not in the sugar, but sugar may be exposed to bone in processing. When refined sugar is processed it may be exposed to a bone char filter, or other filters. An activated carbon filter, sometimes made of bone char, makes sugar white through an absorption process. While the bone char filter is used by some major sugar companies, it is not used to produce all refined sugar. The only way to know for sure if bone char was used is to call the manufacturer.

The two major types of refined sugar produced in the United States are beet sugar and cane sugar. Beet sugar refineries generally do not use a bone char filter in processing because this type of sugar does not require an extensive whitening procedure. Beet sugar can be refined with a pressure lead filter and an ion exchange system. Beet sugar is becoming more prevalent in the United States because the Federal government subsidizes this industry. It is sugar from cane that uses the bone char filter more often.

Almost all sugar refineries require the use of a specific filter to whiten the sugar and absorb inorganic material from it. This whitening process occurs towards the end of the sugar refining procedure. When sugar is processed, the filter may either be bone char, granulated carbon, or an ion exchange system. The granular carbon has a wood or coal base, and the ion exchange does not require the use of any animal products.

Bones from cows are the only type used to make bone char. The Vegetarian Resource Group reports that according to the Sugar Association and several large sugar producers, all of the cows have died of "natural causes" and do not come from the U.S. meat industry. Bone char cannot be produced or bought in the United States.

According to the Vegetarian Resource Group, Bone char is derived from the bones of cattle from Afghanistan, Argentina, India and Pakistan. The sun-bleached bones are bought by Scottish, Brazilian, and Egyptian marketers, who sell them to the U.S. sugar industry. Bone is heated to an extremely high temperature, which results in a physical change in the bones composition to carbon. The bone used in a refinery has become pure carbon.

The bone char removes impurities from the sugar, but does not become a part of the sugar. Refined sugar does not contain any bone particles and is therefore kosher certified. Individual pieces of bone char, like granular carbon, can be used for several years. They must be continuously washed to remove the sugar deposits. Companies that use bone char claim that the char is more economically feasible and efficient than other types of filters.

If your sole reason for not consuming refined sugar is because of the use of bone char, then you should consider buying sugar which has not passed through the char. Refined beet sugar, which never involves bone char, is often labeled fine granular sugar. Cane sugar, which sometimes uses bone char, is distinguished as cane sugar on the package.

Some labels on sugar packages seem to indicate that the product is raw sugar, but all commercial sugar has undergone some refining. Genuine raw sugar cannot be bought and sold to the general consumer in the United States according to FDA regulations, as it is considered unfit for human consumption.

Different types of sugar are the result of various stages of processing. Cane is harvested and ground into small pieces that are dehydrated. At this point, crystallized cane juice is formed. The sugar Sucanat comes from this stage. The raw cane sugar crystals are separated in a centrifuge and washed with steam. After the first couple millings, the end product is called Turbinado sugar. Florida Crystals is a brand name of turbinado sugar. The sugar is milled again—up to ten times total—and whitened to create white sugar. This is where the bone char or other whitening process happens. Processed brown sugar is white sugar to which molasses has been added. Maple sugar is not from sugar cane at all; it comes from crystallized maple syrup. Similarly, date sugar comes from grinding up crystallized dates.

Beet and cane sugar are nutritionally equivalent and one cannot usually taste any difference between them. Turbinado, raw sugar products, maple and date sugars may have more flavor, some minerals, and may be metabolized more slowly, but they are still sugar. All sugars are digested to glucose, absorbed through the same bodily pathway, and have the same affect on blood sugar levels.

Harvest carries the following sugar products in packages: Wholesome Organic Cane Sugar, Wholesome Organic Sucanat, Florida Crystals Milled Cane Sugar, Florida Crystals Demarra Sugar with added molasses, Shurfine Cane Sugar, and Domino’s Cane Sugar, Confectioner’s Sugar and Brown Sugar. In bulk Harvest carries white cane sugar and Sucanat. For alternatives to sugar, Harvest carries Stevia (an herbal sweetener with zero calories and zero carbohydrates), Barley Malt, Maple syrup, Honey, Brown Rice Syrup and, both in packages and in bulk, Fructose Fruit Sugar.

back to top

Claire Elizabeth Davies, Graphic Artist, likes:

Veat Vegetarian Bites

Tasty, versatile, and satisfying. You can add them to pasta sauces, or sauté with vegetables. I prefer the "bites" over the "nuggets" or the "breast".

back to top