Recently someone showed me two apps for my i-phone that help me buy more wisely – http://www.fooducate.com/ and http://www.buycott.com/ so now I can scan product before buying to see if the companies support the causes I believe in like GMO labeling or safe factory conditions overseas or equal rights. I can scan foods to see if they are vegetarian, gluten free or GMO free. For instance, did you know Kellogg’s spent millions of dollars fighting labeling of GMO and they own Morning Star Farms and Kashi brands? SOME of Kashi cereal is labeled GMO free and when scanned with the fooducate app comes up as non-GMO but you’re still supporting a company that does not support labeling. Morning Star Farms brand is highly processed and full of GMO soy and corn.
One of he first mistakes many people make in trying to go vegetarian is to substitute meat with a soy based meat-like alternative. You can see from what I’ve blogged, that I eat a bare minimum of processed soy and that is the occasional Trader Joe’s brand (GMO free) soy sausage patties. And eating vegetarian, eating healthy does not require replacing meat for something else protein based. If you want good soy product eat locally made tofu like Twin Oaks Farm http://twinoakstofu.com/ – available at Whole Foods, Ellwood Thompson’s, Good Foods and Farm to Family. Tempeh is another option but Lightlife brand is owned by ConAgra, one of the biggest monster companies pushing for non-labeling of GMO. And yes I am shrieking because I have some in my fridge – rats, I will have to look for another brand of tempeh. This is our journey, my friends, educating ourselves from the deception and corruption of our industrialized food system. We are on a mission to become healthier, more compassionate consumers – and this is the future of food.