Morningstar Burger Crumbles not vegan anymore!

[laur b.]

I didn't see this info. already posted on vegweb (I read it on Vegan Represent), so I figured I'd let you guys know in case you didn't already. So Morningstar Farms, the company that was claiming last year to be cutting down on using eggs, has now added them to a formerly vegan product which I know many of us really enjoy-- the burger crumbles.

I emailed them to complain/inquire and here's their response:


Thank you for your comments regarding Morningstar Farms® Meal Starters™ Grillers™ Recipe Crumbles. We are sorry you did not enjoy the reformulated product.

As you might imagine, we conduct extensive consumer tests to determine consumer acceptance before introducing a food into the national market.  Reformulated products are of special concern to us, so we use panels of regular product users across the country to ensure acceptability.  Tests on this reformulated product showed that most consumers preferred the new product to the old.  However, we realize that taste preferences do differ and can certainly understand your feelings.

Our goal is to ensure that consumers have a choice when considering our brands. We currently offer several Morningstar Farms® and Gardenburger® products that do not contain eggs and are considered vegan. Some of these products are recent additions formulated to reduce our dependence on traditionally sourced eggs. Our Morningstar Farms® and Gardenburger®, vegan products include:

             Morningstar Farms® Meal Starters® Chik'n Strips
             Morningstar Farms® Grillers® Original Vegan Burger
             Morningstar Farms® Hickory BBQ Riblets
             Gardenburger® Black Bean Chipotle Veggie Burger
             Gardenburger® California Burger
             Gardenburger® Flame Grilled Burger
             Gardenburger® Garden Vegan Burger
             Gardenburger® Breakfast Sausage
             Gardenburger® Breaded Chik'n
             Gardenburger® Herb Crusted Cutlet
             Gardenburger® Veggie Medley Burger


We appreciate your comments and will share them with the appropriate company officials.  We have enclosed some coupons which we hope you will use to purchase other products that you enjoy.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts!


Sincerely,

Victor Velasquez
Consumer Affairs Department


 ,right? I stay away from processed products for the most part, but I always had crumbles on hand for a quick sloppy joe or for tacos once in a while. I thought they were perfect the way they were, though I'm sure the actual reason for the change has more to do with being able to make them more cheaply with the "reformulated product."

[amymylove]

wtf!!! how could they? i'm kinda disgusted with how many of their products aren't vegan... as a company i would think it would be smarter to pursue vegan products so both vegetarians and vegans could enjoy them...not just vegetarians... totally lame!

[underSARAH]

Ugh. I dont like when things turn unvegan. I ALWAYS have those.

[KissMeKate]

I can only imagine the anarchy that would have ensued if this had been the riblets.....

[veggydog]

I can only imagine the anarchy that would have ensued if this had been the riblets.....

LOL 
Is it wrong that this thread just got me excited about all those Gardenburger products I've never tried?  While it does piss me off that they would go from vegan to unvegan, I never used the Burger Crumbles anyway.

[erinmonster5]

I have some Crumbles in my freezer.......they've been there for a while and I can't say I paid any attention to the packaging - I hope they don't have eggs in them....

[amymylove]

I have some Crumbles in my freezer.......they've been there for a while and I can't say I paid any attention to the packaging - I hope they don't have eggs in them....

i have some too but they say vegan on them

[Camillus]

Wtf... I just bought some the other day... I better check to see if they are the good kind.   I had stopped reading the label on them, which naturally happens when you know a product is vegan.  Thanks for posting this, I will also be lodging a couple of complaints.
 

later... yes my crumbles are vegan as well

[erinmonster5]

I went to the store today at lunch so I checked the label - all of the ones at Kroger were still vegan.

[baypuppy]

well, oh heck. now i'll keep an eye out on those.

i don't eat them a lot but they are just great for some recipes. BOOO

[erinmonster5]

So yeah, I just looked at the crumbles I had in my freezer - they have milk and eggs!?!?!  I'm a little pissed.  First, that I bought them, second, that I don't know what to do with them.  Fuck Morningstar. 

[underSARAH]

Oh man. I feel the need to go on a hunt to hurry and buy the ones that are vegan and left. But then again, i'm kind of pissed and more sales for the company would be lame with them pulling this.

[_algae_]

This is like Boca switching up their chik'n patties on me. Some stores carry the vegan ones and some carry non-vegan ones. Gah!! That still bothers me. I didn't know Gardenburger had vegan chik'n things. I'll have to check those out!

[underSARAH]

wait wait wait wait wait wait
are some boca chikns not vegan!?

[eoberhauser]

Just thought I'd chime in - I believe Smart Ground is vegan.  It's actually the only ground I really like.