There are pros and cons to eating “plant-based” processed foods, but no hazard greater than the excitotoxic – brain damaging — manufactured free glutamate, present without exception in the flavor-enhancers you’ll find in all of them.
The popular Dr. Michael Greger is a perfect example of the domination that the GLUTES have over both physicians and the media. Over the years, the Truth in Labeling Campaign has repeatedly provided Dr. Greger with DATA showing how ingredients like MSG (all made with excitotoxic, brain damaging, free glutamate) are harmful, but we’ve been rebuffed every time.
Theo Mourad, co-founder of Theo’s Plant-Based out of Chicago, is a good example of someone trying to fool customers into believing that their products are all full of healthy ingredients and nothing more.
Here’s how Theo’s Plant-Based advertised in May of 2023:
But there are things that Theo isn’t telling. One, for example, is that excitotoxins can be made out of produce that is organically grown. Excitotoxic amino acids are created when any proteinfrom any source is broken into is constituent amino acids. “Organic” does not mean that a product is free of free glutamate.
Finally, here’s a quick tip about something to watch out for. The word “aminos” in the ingredient listing signifies that there are amino acids in the product although the specific amino acids are not named. Check out the ingredients listed for various Theo’s products below and see if you can spot the glutamate-containing plant-based ingredients.
Looks like followers of The Truth in Labeling Campaign aren’t the only ones concerned about fake meats. According to Just Food, a trade publication that offers up-to-date international news and features on the global food industry:
“There is fevered debate about the outlook for meat substitutes amid slowing demand in two major markets – the US and the UK. Proponents argue the category remains one of the most attractive in food, fueled by consumer concerns about health and sustainability. Naysayers contend products aren’t good enough to convince shoppers to buy them regularly.”
Consumers who are buying meat substitutes because they are concerned about their health have it all wrong. Some people believe that it’s healthier to eat plant-based food than to eat animals, and we won’t argue for or against that. But there’s nothing healthy about eating food that is loaded with excitotoxic — brain damaging — glutamic acid (manufactured free glutamate), and when the only plants involved are the chemical plants that these products are made in.
There are no exceptions. Each and every fake protein product contains manufactured free glutamate. The protein in the plants used in “plant-based” meat substitutes is hydrolyzed or fermented to release its brain-damaging free glutamate, the same excitotoxic amino acid that is found in MSG.
In our past three blogs we’ve told you about fake fish, meat and eggs, all disguised to look like the real thing. Despite all the extravagant claims made by manufacturers, if you read the ingredient labels on these products you’ll find that they are not eggs, meat or fish, and not the kinds of “plants” grown by farmers either. As we’ve said before, a better name might be chemical-based junk foods.
Reading labels is vital, but there’s one tip that can save you some time in the supermarket:
Watch out for products that make protein claims on the packaging. Most are made from combinations of manufactured free amino acids such as those found in MSG and in aspartame. This includes snack bars, cookies, smoothie mixes, protein powders and protein drinks in addition to fake eggs, fish, and meat.
All, “substitute” protein products will contain MSG or its toxic MfG.
Remember also that soy, pea and bean protein do not taste remotely like meat, fish or eggs, so MfG-containing flavor enhancers like MSG are added to trick your tongue into making that taste association.
Check out our list of ingredient names that contain MfG as well as our brochure to take shopping with you. Better yet, if you want to do all you can to have a healthy diet, ditch the processed foods and ultra-processed fake foods, altogether.
Part of an ongoing series of Truth in Labeling Campaign blogs about plant-based protein substitutes.
Screenshot from Vox.com | AP Images for Beyond Meat
Last August there was a five-hour feeding frenzy at an Atlanta Kentucky Fried Chicken location.
The restaurant, decked out in special green paint to match the new colored KFC buckets, had a parade of customers that went around the building. They all were lining up for the new offering, a “plant-based” concoction made by Beyond Meat dubbed “Beyond Chicken,” which sold out in a few hours.
All the hype, news stories, and press releases (the CEO of Beyond Meat said his “only regret is not being able to see the legendary Colonel himself enjoy this important moment”) becomes even more ridiculous when you realize what these folks were waiting to purchase – a brew of brain-damaging chemicals constructed to look like a chicken nugget.
Now, this mixture of soy protein isolate, natural flavors, yeast extract and pea extract (all sources of manufactured free glutamate, or MfG) will be rolling out at 4,000 KFC locations around the U.S.
The entire concept of these so-called “plant-based meats” are the ultimate in deceiving the public. They are certainly not health foods, they won’t turn meat-eating consumers into vegans, and for those who already shun animal products this new KFC fake fare isn’t even prepared in a vegan or vegetarian manner, being cooked in the same oil as the actual KFC chicken is.
So, what’s the attraction?
As we said in a blog at the end of December, sales of these “substitute” foods (what the FDA calls them) have taken a nosedive. Despite scores of fake meat, chicken and even fish products easily available in both supermarkets and restaurants, sales have gone flat. It appears that consumers are catching on to this con. And for those still in the dark about what these foods are made from, the novelty of tasting something fake that’s pretending to be something real has worn thin.
Could it be that the only thing keeping this phony food market seemingly afloat is the sheer amount of press being given to it? The new KFC mock chicken was mentioned in practically every news source you can think of, including vegan and vegetarian publications. The ones we saw applauded it, some giving three cheers to all the chickens that will be saved by KFC (which certainly remains to be seen).
What you won’t be hearing from the media is how food chemists have managed to make a laboratory concoction comprised of highly processed ingredients that, when tweaked enough, will manage to have a chicken-like taste. It’s not easy to do. Perhaps that’s the “Kentucky Fried Miracle” they are advertising.
Here’s a look at what this faux foul is made from. The ingredients in red are all sources of MfG, the very same excitotoxic, brain damaging, glutamic acid found in all flavor enhancers, including MSG.
Obviously, there’s no “miracle” here, just a witches’ brew of chemically processed ingredients and flavorings.
If you’re not a TLC blog reader, here’s a quick rundown of some of the things free glutamate is associated with: Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, ALS, autism, schizophrenia, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), epilepsy, ischemic stroke, seizures, Huntington’s disease, addiction, frontotemporal dementia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism.
Here at the Truth in Labeling Campaign we’ve posted quite a bit about fake meat products that contain brain-damaging amino acids. These plant-based, so-called alternative proteins aren’t made from plants but in plants.
Not long ago, products such as Beyond Meat, the Impossible Burger and others appeared to be unstoppable. They managed to infiltrate supermarkets, restaurants such as Burger King and Dunkin’ Donuts and even more elegant sit-down establishments.
Now, however, something is happening to the fake food industry – a great many consumers just aren’t buying these “substitute” foods (as the FDA calls them) anymore. U.S. sales of the Beyond brand (makers of Beyond Meat and the Beyond Burger) recently took a deep dive. Other manufacturers in the pretend food business are seeing their profits sink as well. One CEO of a Canadian company said the “category performance” of plant-based products “has basically flatlined.”
Could it be that people are becoming aware that fake fish, mock meat and counterfeit chicken are nothing more than highly processed promotors of obesity, infertility and migraines? Have consumers figured out that they contain large amounts of manufactured free glutamate (MfG) — the same toxic ingredient found in monosodium glutamate? In other words, are folks catching on to this con?
We believe so.
While it’s no shock that a cattleman wouldn’t support bogus burgers, the comments one made about these ersatz meat products is a bit surprising (perhaps he reads the TLC blog!).
Robert McKnight, Jr., president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, said in a trade publication article that medical professionals are concerned about plant-based “meats” as they contain “dozens of highly processed, laboratory-invented ingredients.”
You’ll find an assortment of those “laboratory-invented ingredients” in most all of these products. For example, take a look at four of the top ingredients in Beyond Beef, all that contain MfG:
Pea protein
Rice protein
Natural flavors
Dried yeast
The Impossible Burger does even better, with 6 MfG-containing ingredients:
Soy-protein concentrate
Natural flavors
Potato protein
Yeast extract
Food starch, modified, and
Soy-protein isolate
Now, there’s even “fish-free” tuna on the market. Good Catch brand is a catch of 7 brain damaging MfG ingredients:
Pea protein isolate
Soy protein concentrate
Faba protein
Lentil protein
Soy protein isolate
Citric acid, and
Yeast extract
Despite all the clever marketing and hoopla over these foods, a recent survey found that nearly half of the consumers questioned want “more information” about plant-based foods before trying them, and over 43 percent want “complete transparency of ingredients.”
But based on the ingredients already on the labels, we’ve seen enough to say that they are nothing more than well-packaged chemical concoctions.
