Friday, March 5, 2010

My name is Ankita and I'm a Vegetarian

I try hard not to be evegangelical, even when the menu has no vegetarian options except french fries. I don't see the point in being pushy and sometimes I wish I could just give up all my economic-social-spiritual-health views that make me a vegetarian -- they are at once liberating and limiting.

But this week I packed a product that I think deserves to be called out: Wegmans' Organic Super Yogurt. I thought I was safe with yogurt, especially organic, especially Wegmans. But instead of ranting, I'm going to give you a break down of the ingredients:

Cultured Pasteurized Grade A Organic Nonfat Milk - hopefully from happy cows
Organic Sugar, Organic Cream, Organic Corn Starch, Organic Vanilla Flavor, Organic Vanilla Beans, Organic Lemon Juice Concentrate - hopefully from happy farms
Inulin (Dietary fiber) - my research tells me this is plant based, usually from roots
Pectin - gelling agent extracted from citrus/terrestrial plants (sounds like aliens)
Organic Locust Bean Gum - luckily not grasshopper-based, but from carob trees
Fish Oil (Anchovy, Sardine) - NOT vegetarian, at least neither are on the overfished list
Kosher Gelatin (Beef, Tilapia) - Seriously? Beef? That doesn't even fly with the pseudo-veggies (pescatarians). If we were in India -- class action lawsuit.
Vitamin D, Contains a Blend of Live and Active Cultures Including: L. Acidophilus, L. Casei, Probiotic Bifidobacterium Lactis - I personally don't count bacteria as animals, so we're safe

I'm not sure the blame here goes to Wegmans. In fact, I thank them for their transparency and lack of HFCS (which despite the ad campaign, is terrible). But I'm not a fan of crossing another item off my list, and I doubt the other 7.3 million veggie Americans are either.

4 comments:

Hannah F. said...

WHAT?? Why is it even necessary to have that many ingredients in yogurt? Gotta go with Stonyfield Farms...extremely ethical, legitimately organic, very delicious and nutritious. Plus you can get rewards for entering codes on the lids.

Loved Ever said...

Ankita really r u Vegetarian ? U know milk is also called GORAS in Sanskrit language which means it is liquid meat of cow.And yogurt is made out of milk,so think how u r a Vegetarian.Please dont mind,it merely my thought.
Work From Home India

Ankita said...

I've milked a few cows. They didn't mind.

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