the Happy Vegetarian

OK, pardon my teenager-like language, but OMG, this is just damn gross. Eeeeeew… Like. Really. Damn. Gross.

In the latest edition of Leven, the quarterly magazine put out by the Dutch Vegetarian Association, there is an article about products that could potentially contain animal products.

Unsuspecting products, like bread.

Apparently, one of the ingredients used by bakers to give bread a nice texture or to keep it’s shelf life longer, is well, er: animal fat. Yum!

What makes this whole thing tricky, is that it doesn’t necessarily have to be labeled on the bread. Infact, the baker probably doesn’t even know that animals are in the pre-mixed softening agent.

I’ve known for the longest time to stay away from packaged bread in the supermarket simply labeled “Brown Bread”. If you inspect the ingredient list, you’ll notice that “brown bread” is just white bread which has been coloured a darker brown to give you the impression that you’re making a healthy choice. My rule of thumb has always been to grab the loaf of bread labeled “Whole Wheat” — because it’s just that — whole wheat. The good stuff.

But now, It’s time to scrutinize the ingredient list a little harder — or just buy my bread from reputable places that don’t add extra junk to my bread

De Nederlandse Vegetariërsbond (NVB): www.vegetariers.nl

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Filed under: Websites and Books on September 27th, 2008