Did you see Oprah yesterday? Between the e-mails, texts, and phone calls from family and friends urging me to watch, I made it a point to see yesterday’s episode. Thanks to DVR, I was able to watch it after Meghan went to bed.
The premise: Oprah challenged her staffers at Harpo Studios to embark on a week-long vegan diet. 378 staffers took the challenge with Oprah and the show documented their week and the results. Here’s a quick video highlight if you missed it:
Joining Oprah on the show were vegan cookbook author Kathy Freston and food expert Michael Pollan (author of In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Food Rules, and more). Pollan’s stance is that he does eat meat, a couple of times a week, but is very picky about the source of the meat. My food philosophy basically mirrors Pollan’s. Freston is a typical vegan, who Oprah said early in the show advocated a whole food, vegan diet. I question the whole food part, but more on that in a minute.
The episode included commentary from Freston and Pollan as well as a tour of one of Cargill company’s meat processing plants. Cargill is the largest producer of ground beef in the world. It didn’t show the cow actually being killed, but did show every other step in the process, from feeding the cow’s the oh-so-unhealthy corn diet, to walking them to their slaughter, to skinning their hides and pulling apart their bodies. As the spokesperson for Cargill explained that they use as much of the animal as possible (Out of reverence for the cow? Riiiiiiight.), it made me wonder just which parts went into “all beef” hotdogs. The stomach? Other by-products? Gross.
Here’s where I think Oprah really missed the boat. Early in the show, she described Freston as an advocate of a whole food (which means unprocessed foods) diet. Then, later in the show, Freston shows herself to be in direct opposition of this stance. She is in the grocery store, helping one mother shop for her vegan challenge week. She is showing her all the things that she can substitute for regular animal products, all of which were processed foods. Fake meats, fake cheeses, “ice cream” sandwiches, and more. Here’s the thing. If you stop eating meat and cheese, but switch to fake meat and fake cheese, you are not really making a great dietary change there. You are just eating processed foods that taste a lot worse than the real thing.
Processed foods, whether they contain animal products or not, are not good for us. In fact, I think the over-consumption of processed foods is a much bigger problem in this country than the over-consumption of animal products.
Let’s take a look at the ingredients in a standard vegan fake-meat patty:
source
Ingredients: water, soy protein concentrate, wheat gluten, contains less than 2% of methylcellulose, salt, caramel color, dried onions, yeast extract, sesame oil, hydrolyzed wheat protein, natural and artificial flavor (non-meat), disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate.
The worst offender here is probably the soy protein concentrate. I am not anti-soy at all. We eat edamame, tamari, miso, some organic soy milk, and even tofu on occasion. What is the difference between the products I mentioned and “soy protein concentrate”? Basically with the soy protein concentrate, the soy bean has been processed into isolated parts. During the processing, the good nutrients present in the soy bean are removed. Worse, the process leaves behind dangerous toxins and chemicals. When eating soy products, you want to eat whole soy products, those that are made from the whole bean. If the label says “concentrate” or “isolate”, use with caution.
In addition to the soy protein concentrate, I also have issues with the caramel color, artificial flavors, and the other ingredients that I can’t pronounce and don’t know what they are. In this case, you would be much better off eating some quality, organic, grass-fed beef from a local farm.
Keep in mind that I am approaching this purely from a health standpoint, not a moral or ethical standpoint. Freston pointed out that whether or not you eat meat or animal products is a personal decision, and that for her, it didn’t feel right in her soul. I respect that. I, too, had trouble watching the segment on the meat processing. Some people can watch that and not think twice, but it’s difficult for me.
Unfortunately, I am a little selfish. My own health trumps the uncomfortable feeling I get when I think about what I am eating. For me, I think it’s best if I eat a small amount of meat and other animal products. I also don’t eat meat that comes from factory farms or large processing plants. My meat comes from local farms where the animals are treated humanely and have happy lives. I feel good about that.
Overall, I’m glad that Oprah put the spotlight on America’s dietary habits and I love how she showed the benefits of a vegan diet. From the 378 staffers undertaking the challenge, 444 pounds were lost in just one week?!! That’s amazing. Many of her staffers reported improvement in bowel movements, acid indigestion, and overall well-being. I hope they and the rest of America will disregard Freston’s segment about the fake meats and cheeses. There are so many more healthful, not to mention delicious, dietary choices for vegans out there. Oprah really missed the boat allowing that segment in her show.
You know, I’m not sure they didn’t know that they missed the boat, but making a departure into true veganism might not have resulted in much success. I think that’s why they pulled back and allowed the processed stuff in, for TV’s sake!
Maryea,
Yes I agree that Oprah missed the boat with that segment. I heard about it on the news the next day and researched it from there. We are ranchers out in Central Nevada, and are producing phenomenal PURE 100% Grass Fed Beef, and have marketed in the best Steak House in Las Vegas. They have acclaimed it THE BEST THEY HAVE EVER TASTED!! The biggest test on how Good it is FOR you, came from my brother in law, his girlfriend, and also the wife of one of the chefs in Vegas. All are vegetarians, and have SERIOUS digestive distress from eating Beef. They have all eaten our beef, and have had absolutely NO problem in digestion.
The processed Vegan food that was being presented in that segment CAN NOT be as good for you as Good Pure Food whether it be meat or vegetables. Fake meat and Fake anything is not going to do a body good.
Please investigate our website, and learn about how we produce this great product.
We are trying to educate this country on the importance of utilizing our pure surroundings and creating a sustaining environment that grows a Very Happy animal, and thus an extremely tasty and vital food.
Very interesting.
I haven’t seen the episode but I am a semi-vegan (I eat some fish).
The fake is a no no for sure. Although I do have just a handful of great products that are vegan and gluten free that mimic the real thing (sometimes I just have that good-old hamburger craving 😉
But these products I’ve finally found contain no preservatives, no artificial colours or flavours. With only soy protein and spices as ingredients.
I do not eat fake cheese – but would love to find a great substitute that would give me that cheesy texture (in some meals it’s a must 😉 but I’ve learned to live without it.
Cheers.
Ella
Interesting post. I’m not vegan at all. In fact, I’m polar opposite 🙂
I do try to make the best choices I can given my finances and availability.
I do agree that the emphasis on all the “fake” products is so absolutely ridiculous. I just think its better to rely on “REAL” food, you know? Not that I’m a purist (not at all). Just in the overall scheme of things, I’d rather have some game from the woods. 🙂
I blogged about the show too – and I agree with your assessment. I really didn’t like the processed vegan foods. Beyond the health aspect, there is the fact that they don’t taste like the animal product alternatives and, if you are expecting them to, you’ll be disappointed and likely not stay with a vegan diet for long. I gave up meat back in November, but my husband and kids still eat it occasionally. My little guy would eat only meat given the chance (he’s not), so I was just joking with a friend that maybe I should offer little meat nuggets as potty training rewards instead of the M&Ms I’m trying (and that aren’t working so well). Yes it goes against my ethics, but I am pretty desperate to be done with diapers. 🙂
Stickers worked pretty well over here! 🙂
That’s my big thing too. I would rather eat meat than a bunch of fake products. I still think its important to be aware of the quality of that though.
I agree with you. Furthermore, I think that some people that wanted to try a vegan diet might like whole foods more than fake meats. Some of those fake meats are gross. I personally don’t like the Gardein brand that she was raving about.
I totally agree. I imagine, however, that she was trying to appeal to those who may be feeling “selfish” and need some kind of transitional plan. i’m being overly positive about that, but i imagine for moral reasons that not wanting to eat meat leads people to want alternatives— especially those afraid of cooking. Just cause you’re vegan doesn’t mean you know or want to prepare food!
I like cooking vegan foods in the whole foods way, like you do. There’s really no need for substitutions.
I to was absolutely shocked that the segment was directed that way. I don’t think that was a fair representation of a vegan diet.
I missed the show 🙁 I have read many blogs today discussing the show which makes me wish I had seen it. My family and I are not vegetarians much less vegans, but I so have a respect for the lifestyle. I do agree with the fact that it is a choice and should be respected. I for one relate to Pollan as far as eating habits go. I also wish they would have stuck with a whole foods approach as opposed to processed products. Thanks for sharing!
I missed the show! I turned the TV on around 5:00 to watch it and my DVR didn’t catch it. Oh well. Maybe I can find it online somewhere. I’m exactly where you are. I have a friend who’s been a vegan for a long time, but she’s overweight and has eczema. I’ve seen her eat all kinds of crap like Cheetos and fake meat. It’s definitely possible to be vegan or vegetarian and be super unhealthy. Eating shouldn’t be an all or nothing proposition. You should eat as healthy as you can and perhaps be inspired by some of the healthy diets out there. Now, my biggest question is how do I get my husband to eat healthier? He eats okay at home, for the most part, but eats some real crap for breakfast and lunch. He was raised on that crap, so it’s hard to convince him that it’s not healthy. Perhaps that’s a topic for another Oprah show.
It has definitely been a process with my husband Tim. When I first met him he was eating hamburger helper and Ramen noodles. Now he actually craves healthier foods because he likes how they make him feel. When he has to eat out for lunch he actually orders veggie sandwiches now! And that’s with me not there. 🙂 He just mentioned last night (when we were watching Oprah) how he can’t remember the last time he needed to take a Tums or antacid and he used to have to take them all the time. I think if you can get your husband to see what’s in it for him (feeling better) you’ll have a better chance of converting him.
Great post! I didn’t see the episode but so far the blogger responses have been similar in response. Michael Pollan is still spot on in my mind.
I totally agree! I watched that Oprah last night and my mouth was literally hung open watching what Freston was suggesting for food options! I understand the idea of “transition foods”, but she should have been teaching this family how to cook legumes instead of how to pulse a fake sausage in her food processor!
Ohhhhh, I DVR’d Oprah and I can’t wait to watch it. I was actually reading a book last night called “Crazy Sexy Diet” by Kriss Carr. She’s also written “Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips” and “Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor”. Anyway, she says in her book that if Americans had a looking glass into the factory farms where most of their meat is processed that they would never eat meat again. Or, they would choose to buy their meat from local farms where the animals are treated humanely. I agree with you on the meat thing. We are down to eating meat 3 times a week at our house. And, my hope is that this year we will be eating even less of it as time goes on. However, we only buy it from a local farm and NEVER, EVER from the grocery store. I’ve read too much about the factory farms and large processing plants to expose my family’s health to something like that. I value our health and well-being too much. I also agree with you on the processed foods thing…..you can’t replace meat with processed fake meat and fake cheeses and deem that you are healthier. Ugh! So gross to look at that fake meat patty! I believe in whole foods and the less processed the better.
Great post Maryea! You made some awesome points! They always want to expose meat plants, but someday they should go inside one of the processed food factories. See all the powders, chemicals, preservatives put in to food and that would gross people out too. Right? 🙂
Seriously! I wish more people would understand how detrimental processed foods can be.
What a great post! I totally agree with what you say. It’s not the meat! It’s the process of it! I think it is totally ok to have clean, organic meat once in a while.
THAT “MEAT” PATTY IS JUST GROSS….
I’m always weary of foods that are so perfectly shaped! 🙂
Excellent post. I did not see Oprah, but my mom was telling me about it. Thanks for filling us in on the details. I am with you, everything in moderation & the less processed the better for all 🙂