Page 73 - Spring2013

THE TOFURKY DIALOGUES: ANSWERING EVERY QUESTION YOU EVER HAD ABOUT TOFURKY.

What's Tofurky? Is it truly an incredible and revolutionary product?
It’s a vegan “roast” made primarily from tofu and wheat gluten. It smells strange, is oblong shaped, and said to taste like
turkey, at least by vegans who’ve either never eaten real turkey or have very distant and feeble memories of having eaten
turkey.

According to Turtle Island Foods, Tofurky is a gourmet vegan “roast and gravy” product made from “a revolution-
ary tofu-wheat protein blend, known for its incredible, turkey-like texture and flavor.” Is it really “incredible” and
“revolutionary”?
It might seem so if you’ve been dining on Approximeat, Roast Almost, Veat, Soyloin, Sham Ham or Wham.

Tell me about that ingredient “vital wheat gluten?”
It gives the Tofurky creature its signature wet and wild look. Having seen the creature naked and out of its box, I'd
describe its body as doughy, gluey, pasty and corpse-like. Not very appealing and certainly not vital. Only a gluten for
punishment would recommend it, given how many people today suffer from gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.

If you aren’t gluten sensitive, would Tofurky be a good way to “practice safe soy” this Thanksgiving?
No, with a name like that you could die laughing . . .

Do you think it has health benefits?
Absolutely. The taste and smell would keep you from overeating!

Seriously, isn’t it loaded with soy and flavored by MSG?
Hard to believe, but Tofurky actually has few flavorings compared to most meat analogue products and the Turtle Island
company prides itself on rejecting spices with MSG. The company also uses no soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate,
hydrolyzed plant protein, textured vegetable protein or other modern, industrialized soy proteins manufactured using high
temperatures, high pressure, acid and alkaline baths and hexane solvents. And Turtle Island takes care to use only non-GMO
ingredients. The biggest problem by far is the wheat gluten! That’s the second ingredient, after water, which is the first. I’m
also no fan of canola oil though I’m glad the canola oil in Tofurky is non-GMO.

Canola oil in Tofurky? Why not soy oil?
Soy oil’s in there too as it comes naturally in the tofu. I guess they decided there was no reason to soy-l it more! The
added lube comes from canola oil, and the idea that it's healthy is a great con-ola. If you don’t want the Tofurky bird to dry
out, you are instructed to baste it with olive oil during the roasting process.

Sounds like a lot of oil. I thought the Tofurky was a lowfat bird?
Hardly. The creature is a shapeless blob with no bones or muscles whatsoever. It's so fat it can’t even move unless you
bind it tightly with shrink wrap, put it on top of a hill and give it a push.

How good is the fat in a real turkey?
No good at all if you are talking about supermarket brands “buttered up” with injections of soy oil , water and MSG.
The problem is there's no real butter in there!

How's the fat found naturally in turkey?
Dr. Mary Enig says the fatty acid profile of turkey meat depends on the source, and it varies depending upon the diet
fed the turkey. Typical fatty acid composition of turkey fat in the U.S. is less than 1 percent myristic acid, 22 percent pal-
mitic acid, 6 percent palmitoleic acid, 6 percent stearic acid, 38 percent oleic acid, 22 percent omega 6 linoleic acid and
1 percent omega 3 linolenic acid.
People are always surprised that poultry contains so much monounsaturated fat. The oleic and palmitoleic acids together
come to 44 percent monounsaturates. These figures would probably not change much with the organic turkeys sold in the
chain health food stores because they are still fed corn and soy, just not GMO corn and soy. Few of those turkeys spend
enough time in the great outdoors to be considered free range. Best to get heritage-breed turkeys that hunt and peck and
eat bugs, worms and grass in the wild. The omega-3 and EPA, DHA fatty acid levels in those turkeys are much improved.

Wise Traditions SPRING 2013 SPRING 2013 Wise Traditions 73