What’s the Deal With Morningstar?
When I started reading ingredient labels I began thinking about the Morningstar Black Bean Burgers everyone hailed as the “healthier” alternative to beef. I had a sneaky suspicion they probably had some pretty bad ingredients in them, specifically GMO soy. Well, I was right! Here is a review of the ingredients:
WATER, COOKED BLACK BEANS (BLACK BEANS, WATER), COOKED BROWN RICE (WATER, BROWN RICE), ONION, WHOLE KERNEL CORN, CORN OIL, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, WHEAT GLUTEN, EGG WHITES, DICED TOMATOES, BULGUR WHEAT, GREEN CHILES, CALCIUM CASEINATE, CORNSTARCH, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF ONION POWDER, SPICES, TOMATO JUICE, YEAST EXTRACT, TOMATO POWDER, DEXTROSE, SALT, GARLIC POWDER, HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE PROTEIN (CORN GLUTEN, WHEAT GLUTEN, SOY PROTEIN), SOY SAUCE (SOYBEANS, WHEAT, SALT), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, PAPRIKA, JALAPENO PEPPER, CITRIC ACID, XANTHAN GUM, DISODIUM INOSINATE, THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE, CARAMEL COLOR, LACTIC ACID.
What these Ingredients Mean
- Whole kernel corn- GMO
- Brown Rice- Possible GMO
- Corn Oil- Highly refined GMO oil
- Soy protein concentrate- GMO
- Cornstarch- GMO
- Yeast Extract- Another form of Monosodium Glutamate of MSG (the Chinese food additive)
- Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein- Another form of MSG
- Natural and Artificial Flavors- Unknown ingredients
- Disodium Inosinate- Another form of MSG
- Caramel color- Potential carcinogen
Well looks like Morningstar loves their GMO’s and MSG’s. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a product with 3 forms of MSG in it! Yes, rice and beans are bland but 3 forms of MSG? That’s what I call over-kill. If you thought these were a healthier alternative to beef, it is time to think again. These things are a GMO bomb, with a ton of MSG and potential carcinogens. There is NOTHING healthy about these. I don’t care if you are saving fat grams, I will take the fat over the GMO’s and everything else any day. We stay far, far away from GMO soy because I refuse to allow my family to be used as lab rats. GMO soy in particular has been repeatedly linked to sterility, infant mortality, and birth defects. If any of the experiments they have done so far are true, things are looking very scary for our future. I will NOT support companies using GMO ingredients, and Morningstar is no exception. If you’d like to know more about GMO’s here is a really helpful article from NationofChange.org.
If you like these and want to make your own instead, try my Spicy Black Eyed Pea Burgers.
