With help from Vegan Drinks Baltimore, The Vegetarian Resource Group is hosting its 34th Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Vegan Potluck Dinner, showing appreciation for turkeys by not eating them! Join us in sharing a variety of festive, delicious, vegan dishes.

Adult admission is $4 and children are free. Please bring a vegan dish – free of meat, fish, fowl, milk, cheese, butter, eggs, honey, or any other animal-derived ingredient – that serves 4 per adult attending (ex. 2 adults, your dish should serve 8 people).

The event will take place Sunday November 22nd at 5:00 PM in the North Baltimore Mennonite Church, located at 4615 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210. If you have any questions, please call The Vegetarian Resource Group (410) 366-8343 Monday-Friday 9 am to 5 pm. You can also email us questions at [email protected].

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Background

Throughout The Vegetarian Resource Group’s recent investigations on calcium and magnesium stearate and stearic acid from May until November 2015, information emerged that was very different from what was known to be true many years ago. Many ingredient manufacturers and suppliers as well as many different types of food companies told us that their food grade stearates and stearic acid were vegetable-derived, mostly coming from palm or coconut oils or corn rather than tallow or lard, which was more common twenty or more years ago.

Although a few food grade tallow-derived stearates and stearic acid were located on the market as raw ingredients, they weren’t appearing on ingredient labels of foods that we had been researching. A few ingredient company employees who would not divulge their clients’ identities told us that customers may purchase food grade products (of plant or animal origin) but use them in non-food items such as personal care products.

In fact, one ingredient supplier told us that the only difference between food grade and non-food grade ingredients has to do with where the ingredients are measured out and bagged. Food grade ingredients are handled in cleaner “white rooms” under more rigorous standards and quality controls while non-food grade ingredients are measured out in warehouses.

Google® Images of ingredient labels turned up very few foods listing stearic acid as an ingredient; in fact it took manipulating the search term wording a few times to reveal a handful of stearic acid-containing mints among thousands of labels that we reviewed. One of them was Wrigley’s® Life Savers®.

A Wrigley customer service representative told The VRG by email and phone in August 2015 that the Pep O Mint®, Spear O Mint® and Wint O Mint® Life Savers varieties contain stearic acid which “…is an animal-based ingredient.”
Wrigley’s corporate affairs office confirmed to us by email that their “stearic acid is sourced from both beef and pork.”

Taste or Texture Factor?

The VRG contacted Wrigley’s corporate affairs office by phone for more information. We received a return phone call and several follow up email responses:

I am following up on your inquiry to Wrigley regarding stearic acid in Life Savers mints…

While most Wrigley products sold in the U.S. do not contain animal-derived ingredients, we do use [animal-derived] stearic acid in Life Savers Spear O Mint, Pep-O-Mint and Wint-O-Green sugar mints, which is included in the ingredient line label. The ingredients in our products are necessary to achieve the right taste and texture. We are continually looking at alternatives to animal-derived ingredients that can deliver the same quality that our consumers love. – On behalf of Wrigley Corporate Affairs

Price Factor?

Possibly price could be the reason why a company would choose tallow or lard as a stearic acid source rather than palm, coconut or corn oil.

So we asked stearic acid suppliers if there was a large difference in price. For example, Acme-Hardesty® provided a price quote on one ton of food grade tallow-derived and one ton of food grade plant oil-derived stearic acid (70% or higher) in flake form:

The pricing on triple-pressed stearic acid tallow- vs. vegetable-based is 0.82 vs 0.89/lb. respectively…
An employee of Silver Fern Chemical® added that the price of animal- and plant-derived stearic acid fluctuates depending on supply and demand; animal-based could be slightly lower in price than plant-based at one time but more expensive at another time. Speaking of powdered stearic acid she said that

…plant-derived is generally higher, but sometimes it’s tallow; plant is usually 10 cents per lb. higher.

Wondering if a 7-10 cents/lb. difference for one ingredient could make a significant difference to the profit margin of a large company and if the taste difference would be noticeable, The VRG asked for the opinion of a certified food scientist with over ten years of experience in the food industry who stated:

I don’t think there would be a significant difference in taste/texture from a plant-based vs. a tallow-based version. But believe it or not, 7 cents extra per pound can be an issue, especially for a major company that mass produces in volume such as Wrigley’s.

The other thing to consider is supply chain. There may not be enough available, maybe not enough to sustain growth, maybe minimum production runs are larger, maybe they require a clean-out stage making the ordering lead-time longer. There are a lot of factors involved in supply chain that may be the biggest hurdle.

Bottom line is there is most likely a good substitution available, and if they had consumer interest to make it work – they could probably make it happen I think.

NOTE: By comparison, Wrigley’s Altoids Smalls® and Altoids Arctic® contain magnesium stearate. The “stearate” part of this magnesium stearate used in these products is (from a company email to us), sourced from “stearic acid derived from palm oil.”

Conclusion

Apart from three Wrigley’s Lifesavers flavors it is possible that other products contain animal-derived stearic acid although we find it unlikely based on our research. Look for an upcoming article by VRG on approximately 40 mint brands.

If you discover any other products containing stearic acid derived from animal fat (tallow or lard) please email us at [email protected]. Your information will be an important contribution to The VRG’s database on food ingredient source trends.

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at
www.vrg.org/donate

To join The Vegetarian Resource Group, go to
http://www.vrg.org/member/cabdacae.php

The Vegetarian Resource Group has compiled a list of some of the many vegan events going on in the USA to celebrate Thanksgiving. The good news is that there are events happening all over the country! You’ll also find a list of vegan restaurants offering Thanksgiving meals.

Let us know of vegan Thanksgiving events happening near you!

See: http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vegan_thanksgiving.php

The Vegetarian Resource Group is an activist educational non-profit organization that does veggie outreach all-year-long. We table at different events throughout the USA and also send literature free of charge to other groups/individuals doing educational activities in schools, hospitals, camps, restaurants, libraries, etc. around the country. Our ability to continue doing this depends on people like you! Your donations allow us to promote the vegan message whenever we’re called upon for assistance. Please consider becoming a monthly donor to VRG. Thanks so much for your support.
You can become a monthly or quarterly donor online here: https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=1565

Below are links to find vegan shoes, boots, and more for children. Let us know about any other products you have bought for the vegan child in your life.

Non-leather shoes for kids:
Blowfish
Vegan Chic
Keen
Soft Star

Non-leather snow boots for kids:
L.L. Bean

Vegan Full Sole and Split Sole Pink Ballet Shoes for girls: Cynthia King

Faux Fur Coats for children:
Donna Salyer’s Fabulous Furs

For a complete list of Non-Leather Alternatives for Adults and Children from The Vegetarian Resource Group see: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/leather.php

There are so many ways to prepare vegan stuffing for Thanksgiving! We thought we’d once again share an article that previously ran in our Vegetarian Journal that includes recipes for Eggplant-Tomato Stuffing, Oatmeal-Walnut Stuffing, Goodies-From-the-Garden Stuffing, Chock-Full-of-Corn Stuffing, Fruited Bread Stuffing, Apple and Raisin Stuffing, and Spinach and Roasted Pepper Stuffing.

See: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj97nov/97bstuff.htm

Subscribe to Vegetarian Journal: http://www.vrg.org/bookstore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3

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 The Vegetarian Resource Group in other workplace fund drives, matching gifts, etc.

See http://www.vrg.org/support.htm for other ways you can donate to VRG.

Thanks for your support!

If you are looking for vegan “Turkey” products for Thanksgiving, there are now several to choose from. Of course, there is so much more vegans eat on Thanksgiving. You can find some suggestions here: http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vegan_thanksgiving.php

Field Roast offers a 2-pound Celebration Roast with Traditional Bread Stuffing and Gravy that serves 8. They also offer a 1-pound Celebration Roast. Additionally, you can buy their Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute, which is hazelnut-infused grain meat stuffed with Field Roast sausages, crystallized ginger, cranberries and apples – wrapped in a savory puff pastry. Finally, they have released a new product for this Thanksgiving called Smokey Forager’s Roast with Foraged Ingredients and Pineapple Mustard Glaze.
See: http://fieldroast.com/product/celebration-roast-traditional-bread-stuffing-gravy/, http://fieldroast.com/product/hazelnut-cranberry-roast-en-croute/, and http://fieldroast.com/product/smokey-foragers-roast/

Gardein offers the Gardein holiday roast, which is cranberry wild rice stuffing with homestyle gravy that can serve up to 8 people! They also have Savory Stuffed Turk’y, which is 2 individual stuffed turk’y with 2 packs of gravy. Perfect for one or two!
See: http://gardein.com/products/holiday-roast/ and http://gardein.com/products/savory-stuffed-turky/

Tofurky offers Tofurky Feast, which serves 6 people and contains one Tofurky Roast, Savory Gravy, Wild Rice/Whole Wheat Bread Crumb Stuffing, Tofurky Jurkky Wishstix, and Vegan Fudge Brownie. You can also purchase the Tofurky Roast separately, as well as their Savory Gravy.
See: http://www.tofurky.com/tofurkyproducts/holiday_products.html

Vegetarian Plus offers a Vegan Whole Turkey. Each box includes one large 4 pound vegan turkey, 1 pound of stuffing, and a 16 ounce tub of gravy. You can order this item online.
See: https://store.veganessentials.com/vegan-whole-turkey-by-vegetarian-plus-p3801.aspx

Earth Balance® – makers of a variety of plant-based, vegan products such as buttery spreads, nut butters and snacks – are thrilled to announce their 5th Annual Holiday Bake-Off. The national, virtual vegan baking competition launches Nov. 1 and runs through Nov. 30, 2015.

This year, Earth Balance has enlisted the help of three judges who represent the best of vegan and plant-based cooking: blogger and cookbook author Dreena Burton of Plant-Powered Kitchen, cookbook author and restaurateur Chloe Coscarelli, and blogger and cookbook author Emily von Euw of This Rawsome Vegan Life.

“Some people may be intimidated by vegan baking,” said Coscarelli, “but they don’t have to be! I use Earth Balance in many of my own recipes, and it really makes dairy-free baking easy and delicious. This Bake-Off offers the opportunity for fellow vegans to show their own passion through baking, and I’m truly looking forward to reviewing the submissions.”

All recipe submissions must be 100 percent plant-based, original and contain least one Earth Balance product. The 2015 Bake-Off categories include:

· Cookies and bars

· Savory baked goods – new in 2015

· Cakes and cupcakes

· Pies

“Every year the team at Earth Balance looks forward to the Holiday Bake-Off,” said Adriane Pilcher, director of marketing for Earth Balance. “We are humbled and truly grateful for the participation of our world-renowned judges, and the addition of the unique savory category this year provides yet another opportunity for contestants to showcase their talents and prove that a plant-based diet doesn’t have to mean living ‘without.’”

Previous winning recipes have included Blackberry Green Tea Layer Cake, Chai Pumpkin Pie With Cranberry Orange Gremolata, and Banana Chocolate Caramel Pecan Cake.

Contestants can submit recipes for consideration at mjr.earthbalancenatural.com between Nov. 1 and 30, 2015. Winners will be selected in each of the four categories, and from those, one grand-prize winner will be selected to win a prize package including a trip to New York City. Throughout the contest, Earth Balance will also be awarding prizes via its social media platforms. Full contest details are available at mjr.earthbalancenatural.com/hbo2015.

The Vegetarian Resource Group is here to help. We share plenty of Thanksgiving recipe ideas and list groups/restaurants offering veggie meals for the holiday.

Visit: http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vegan_thanksgiving.php