How Healthy are Meat Substitute Products?

Good morning friends,

I was researching the "Meat" alternatives this morning and came across the Morning Farms FAQ section of their website. How could it possibly be healthier for us to transition from a meat based diet to a non meat diet and use meat substitutes like those sold by Morning Farms? The idea that I'm dealing with is about consuming a healthy diet that is better for my family and more pleasing to the Creator. What I found is that the ingredients used to make these "Meat Substitutes" are anything but more healthy.

Here is a question and answer from the Morning Farms website:

Q.  Are Morningstar arms® products  made with GMO ingredients?

A.  We recognize that some Morningstar Farms® consumers may prefer foods that do not contain biotech ingredients, so we offer Morningstar Farms® Breakfast Patties Made with Organic Soy. At this time, all of our other products contain biotech ingredients. The ingredients we use have been approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities, and all of our products comply with food labeling requirements in markets where they are sold throughout the world.

Now I am not trying to put down the Morning Farms company nor the people that currently purchase their products. What I am concerned with is the hype around the "Better for you" concept that is being spread. Is it "Better for you" to consume GMO products instead of hormone induced meats? Is it "Better for you" to replace the Meat you currently consume with these Meat Substitutes? I'm not willing to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire!

Let's look at the ingredients that are found in this new product...

Ingredients:

TEXTURED VEGETABLE PROTEIN (SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, WHEAT GLUTEN, WATER FOR HYDRATION), CORN OIL, EGG WHITES, CALCIUM CASEINATE, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF MODIFIED TAPIOCA STARCH, ONION POWDER, MIXED TRIGLYCERIDES, CANOLA OIL, HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE PROTEIN (CORN GLUTEN, WHEAT GLUTEN, SOY PROTEIN), DEXTROSE, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SALT, YEAST EXTRACT, SUGAR, CARAMEL COLOR, WHEY*, METHYLCELLULOSE, SPICE, GARLIC POWDER, MALTODEXTRIN, DISODIUM INOSINATE, DISODIUM GUANYLATE, SOY SAUCE (WATER, SOYBEANS, SALT, ETHYL ALCOHOL, WHEAT), AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, ASCORBIC ACID, THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), NIACINAMIDE, SESAME SEED OIL, SOY LECITHIN, IRON (FERROUS SULFATE), THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), VITAMIN B12.
*ADDS A TRIVIAL AMOUNT OF CHOLESTEROL.

Okay, so we can see that these are all just as processed and just as unhealthy as the ingredients found in regular processed foods. 

What am I to do? Could the answer be simply "No Meat" and "No Meat Substitutes"?

Going Vegetarian? Should we or Should we Not?

Okay, so I had a friend over for Shabbat services and we were talking Torah. She brought up the topic of how much meat is eaten and that the prophets say that the ETERNAL NEVER asked for animal sacrifices (Jer. 7). Well, it was on! I began to reference all of the scriptures that I know concerning Kashrut, animal sacrifice, the feast days and so on...Then I realized that I had heard the very same statement from another brother that came to  the Shavuot celebration. Now that was two people in less than a few months. I began to consider the thought that what I thought I knew about the will of the ETERNAL was being challenged and that I need to go into a serious study concerning this issue.

So I began...

Two weeks later, I am seriously considering the idea of removing all meat from my family's diet. Why, you ask. Didn't the ETERNAL give us clean animals to eat and sacrifices were really big "cook outs" anyway, right? The truth of the matter is that we have to consider the original diet given by the Most High. We must ask ourselves if eating meat is in the "PERFECT" or "ACCEPTABLE" will of the ETERNAL. We must consider the conditions in which animals were raised in the bible days and compare that to the factory farming of today. We must consider the commands given to Noach, Moshe and others in the Torah and why they were given. If we follow on to know the "Perfect" will of the ETERNAL, we may find that it is not in the eating of meat.

Herein lies the beginning of my search for the truth of the matter. I will follow up with a few scriptural incidences for us to consider.

For right now, I am not eating meat, although I am still eating fish, eggs and dairy. Walk with me thru my journey of discovery and let us find the conclusion of the whole matter.