by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

In late August 2010, all Denny’s restaurants in the United States added Amy’s Kitchen Veggie Burger to their menus. This vegan patty replaces the vegetarian burger that had been offered by Denny’s. The burger will be available any time of the day at every Denny’s location in the US.

The listed menu item is served with pepper jack cheese, but restaurant patrons may request it without cheese. Those with food allergies may note that the vegan patty contains textured soy protein concentrate and walnuts.

If ordered as listed, the burger is served on a wheat bun which contains honey. Customers may request the white sesame seed burger bun instead; it is all-plant based. Neither bun contains L-cysteine, a common bakery ingredient usually derived from human or hog hair or duck feathers.

Denny’s prepares its Amy’s burger in a microwave without the plastic packaging. Then it is grilled on a surface where meat products were prepared. Denny’s told The VRG that patrons may request that their patty be microwaved only and/or grilled in a sanitized pan previously used to prepare omelets. Denny’s assured The VRG that employees will do everything possible to ensure that customers are happy with their order.

Visitors to Canada and Canadian vegans may be pleased to learn that Denny’s restaurants in Canada serve Yves vegan burger.

by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

In July 2010, a regulatory compliance analyst from a private industry recently asked us to look into Vance’s DariFree Milk, touted on its website as “vegan friendly.” She noticed that it contained vitamin D3, which is most often derived from lanolin (sheep’s wool).

We spoke with the Director of Marketing at Vance’s Foods several times about its source of vitamin D3 in order to achieve greater clarity on this issue. Initially, The VRG was told that the vitamin D3 in Vance’s DariFree Milk “was not derived from sheep’s wool; was not from lanolin.” It was stated that the source of the vitamin D3 was “synthetic.”

The VRG further inquired about the meaning of the word “synthetic” and was told that it was “synthetic due to the chemical reaction it undergoes during processing.” The VRG asked about the nature of these chemical reactions. It was later clarified by the Director of Marketing at Vance’s Foods that lanolin was the starting material of the vitamin D3 in the DariFree Milk.

After this acknowledgment, Vance’s presented us with this statement from the supplier of their vitamin D3. It reads: “only carriers of plant or synthetic origin are present in the D3 formulation.” The VRG again inquired about this statement in light of the previous statement that lanolin, which is neither of plant or synthetic origin, was the starting material of the vitamin D3 in the DariFree Milk.

In part, the statement received from Vance’s Director of Marketing in early September 2010 read: “the vitamin D3 used in DariFree is made synthetically through chemical processes, rather than derived directly from plants or other materials. This process begins with a by-product created when cleaning sheep’s wool; however, there is no animal or wool in the vitamin D3…We appreciate the many Vegans and Vegetarians that enjoy and promote DariFree. However, Vance’s Foods does not get involved or take sides with the many different philosophies/lifestyles of Veganism and Vegetarianism.”

Click here to see Bill Clinton speak with Wolf Blitzer about adopting a plant-based diet after his bypass surgery.

Clinton says:

I went on essentially a plant-based diet. I live on beans, legumes, vegetables, fruit, I drink a protein supplement every morning – no dairy – I drink almond milk mixed in with fruit and a protein powder, so I get the protein for the day when I start the day out, and it changed my whole metabolism and I lost 24 pounds […]

I did all this research, and I saw that 82 percent of the people since 1986 who have gone on a plant-base, no dairy, no meat of any kind, no chicken, no turkey – I eat very little fish, once in a while I’ll have a little fish – if you can do it, 82 percent of people have begun to heal themselves

Federal government employees can support The Vegetarian Resource Group through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Look for us under Health & Medical Research Charities of America.

We are also participating in the California State Employees Charitable Campaign. If you are a California State employee, please support Vegetarian Resource Group outreach.

Please also remember VRG in other workplace fund drives, matching gifts, etc.!

For the month of October, TheVegetarianSite will donate a portion of your purchase to The VRG. TheVegetarianSite offers non-leather shoes and clothing, cruelty free personal care products, books, videos, food, and more. We thank them, and we’d like to thank you for supporting The Vegetarian Resource Group!

The 9th International Symposium on the Role of Soy in Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention and Treatment will be held from Oct. 16-19, at The Capital Hilton in Washington D.C. This international symposium will be the central meeting of interest to all researchers investigating the health effects of soyfoods and soybean components.

Noteworthy presentations include:

Diet vs. Drugs in Chronic Diseases: Other Advantages

David Jenkins, University of Toronto

Soy Protein Effects on Serum Lipoproteins: An Updated Meta-analysis

James W. Anderson, University of Kentucky, Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Clinical Nutrition

Association between Soy Isoflavones Intake and Breast Cancer Recurrence and Survival

Xinmei Kang, Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital of Harbin Medical University

Effect of a Novel Supplemented Soy Drink on Skin Aging of Postmenopausal Women

Robin van den Berg, Expertise Team Leader in Nutrition Sciences, Unilever

Online registration has been extended through Oct. 8.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director

The VRG recently received an email from someone who asked us if glucono delta lactone (GDL) was derived from lactose in cow’s milk. (The “lactone” part of this ingredient’s name made him suspicious.) Glucono delta lactone is an ingredient in many foods, functioning as a substitute for enzymes in cheese processing or tofu manufacturing; or as a leavening acid in bakery products.

We asked the quality control or research and development departments of several companies that manufacture glucono delta lactone about their starting materials as well as about the production process. We spoke with Archer Daniels Midland, Purac America, PMP Fermentation Products, Inc., and Wintersun Chemical. All four companies reported that their glucono delta lactone is (or, was, in the case of ADM and Purac which no longer produce it), entirely plant-based. It is prepared by microbial (bacteria or yeast) fermentation of a carbohydrate source. Additional processing or chemical reactions are not involved in manufacturing glucono delta lactone.

Corn is (and always has been) the major commercial source. Rice may be used as well. Ener-G Foods used rice by a method involving bacterial fermentation in order to produce leavened breads that are yeast-free.

10/15/2015 UPDATE: Ener-G Foods now uses corn and no longer uses rice.

Interested readers may subscribe to our free email newsletter for updates on glucono delta lactone and many other common food ingredients. You can purchase our Guide to Food Ingredients to learn about the commercial sources of over two hundred food ingredients at http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php.

VRG is participating in the California State Employees Charitable Campaign. If you are a California state employee, please support Vegetarian Resource Group outreach.

Please also remember VRG in other workplace fund drives, matching gifts, etc.! Federal government employees can support The Vegetarian Resource Group through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Look for us under Health & Medical Research Charities of America.

I'm getting braces in a couple of weeks. My orthodontist gave me a booklet about what to eat when my mouth hurts and there's not much I can eat (I'm vegan). What do you suggest?

• Soy yogurt
• Mashed potatoes (make these easily by microwaving a potato, removing the peel, mashing it with a fork, adding unsweetened soymilk until it's a consistency you can eat, and flavoring it with soy margarine and salt and pepper to taste. Try this same idea with a sweet potato.
• Applesauce
• Canned peaches or pears
• Smoothie made with soymilk, silken tofu, soft fruit (like berries), and frozen bananas. You can add maple syrup or another sweetener or peanut butter to taste. See what flavor you can invent!
• Soups – try Amy's canned soups or homemade lentil, vegetable, or other soup. Many non-veg soup recipes can be adjusted to use vegetable broth or stock in place of animal broth, soymilk in place of cow's milk, and beans or tofu cubes in place of meat.
• Soft pasta or couscous
• Scrambled tofu
• Hummus or other bean dips (eat with a spoon instead of dipping crackers or raw veggies until your mouth feels better)
• Refried beans
• Vegetarian baked beans
• Oatmeal or other hot cereal
• Juice pops (freeze juice in small cups with a popsicle stick holder)
• Frozen desserts
• Pudding – look for a simple pudding recipe where you can substitute soy or rice milk for cow's milk; instant pudding mix does not seem to work with soymilk
• Fruit or vegetable juice
• Ramen noodles (look for a brand without animal-ingredients). Add small cubes of tofu and/or frozen mixed vegetables to the cooking water.

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Click here for more Teen FAQs.

Click here to see this entire lesson plan.

by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
© The Vegetarian Resource Group

Purpose: To evaluate surface water quality of samples collected from a recreational use area and those from areas used for farming or animal-based agriculture. Samples will be compared over the period of one day, one week, or one year, as time and resources permit. Possible parameters to be examined:

• pH
• temperature
• turbidity
• nitrate concentration
• phosphate concentration
• fecal contamination
• antibiotic contamination
• dissolved oxygen (DO)
• biological oxygen demand (BOD)

Objectives: As a result of this investigation, students will be able to:

• identify multiple measures of water quality;
• collect environmental water samples and assess their composition and quality;
• display and interpret data in tabular and graphical forms;
• apply computational, analytical, and scientific reasoning skills to make comparisons and contrasts concerning water quality;
• propose ways to mitigate human-influenced negative effects on water quality.

Lesson Background:

Teachers may look at the United Nations’ 2006 report titled Livestock’s Long Shadow available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm. Chapter IV deals with water pollution due to animal agriculture. Both national and global issues are discussed. The major conclusion of this Report is that livestock production is a leading source of environmental damage including climate change; water and air pollution; land degradation; and loss of biodiversity. The Report suggests that a human diet that is plant-based would prevent much of the environmental damage caused by animal agriculture, including the feedcrop production associated with it.

Click here to see this entire lesson plan.