Good News for any of you Chocoholics
It looks like Mars was going to adding rennet to their chocolate. First of all, why do food manufacturers feel the need to add rennet to anything they make? For what...the taste? Some corporate cheese or chocolate taster says...."hmmm, ya know, this stuff is pretty good, but it's missing something....AHHH! I know, add some enzymes from calves stomachs, that's exactly what it was missing! Much better with this crap! I can taste the difference already!"
One thing I noticed in the article is that it states in London: "Forty members of parliament signed a protest petition....." Do you think any members of the US congress or Senate would stand up for the rights of veggies? I think most would tell the company to start using more cattle parts, so they could have more cattle grazing in our National Park Lands, and then hire government sharp shooters to kill the coyotes, wolves, black footed ferrets, and prairie dogs that interfere with the cattle that are just getting fat enough to be killed by corporations that in turn donate more money to congressmen and senators that will make more government land available to them to raise even more cattle!
Anyway...here's the article...guess I took a good story and turned it into an angry rant! :o
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070520/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_mars_chocolate_1
"hmmm, ya know, this stuff is pretty good, but it's missing something....AHHH! I know, add some enzymes from calves stomachs, that's exactly what it was missing! Much better with this crap! I can taste the difference already!"
ewwwww :P
but hold your applause....
http://www.veganporn.com/1052282385.html
actually Mars DID add the rennet and (see article above) looks like they are not going to continue using it.
(If I got this wrong let me know. I only skimmed each article.)
"Masterfoods said it had started using rennet from 1 May and non-affected products had a "best before date" up to 1 October."
...but are/were any mars products vegan??
My understanding of the article is that anything with an expiration date before October 1 doesn't have rennet in it, but anything past that will. I was pretty disappointed by this. I really can't understand what kind of difference this is going to make to the product...
And, I don't think Mars products have ever been vegan. (Don't think I would eat them even if they were :) )
Yet another reason to choose fair trade chocolate. This sort of thing doesn't happen...
:) That's a lesson to me to be more vocal about my value system. After six days and 6,000 phone calls:
May 14, 2007
http://www.veganporn.com/1052282385.html
"If the customer is an extremely strict vegetarian, then we are sorry the products are no longer suitable, but a less strict vegetarian should enjoy our chocolate," said Paul Goalby, corporate affairs manager for Masterfoods.
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May 20, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070520/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_mars_chocolate_1
The company did its best to sound contrite.
"It became very clear, very quickly, that we had made a mistake, for which I am sorry," Fiona Dawson, managing director of the Mars snack food business in Britain, said in a statement.
"There are 3 million vegetarians in the UK and not only did we disappoint them but we upset lots of other consumers," she said. "We have listened to their views and have decided to reverse our decision."
That's awesome! I love it when the good intentions of individuals make a difference.
but did they only change it in the UK??? I am confused.
Oh, I wish we could do a campaign like this against other ingredients in otherwise mainstream foods - like the glycerine in fruit and cereal bars, and the gelatin in, well, everything. And the beef tallow in pastries (like hostess)! Even if they weren't vegan, it would be nice if they were vegetarian!
:) That's a lesson to me to be more vocal about my value system. After six days and 6,000 phone calls:
May 20, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070520/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_mars_chocolate_1
Wow. That is pretty cool.
But , I agree, is it only the UK chocolate that is going back to normal?
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Ferret Research: http://ferretknots.blogspot.com/
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Mahatma Gandhi:
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
It wasn't clear, but I'd guess it's only the UK chocolate. Probably no one said anything in the US.