What is Soy Lecithin....?

Soy Lecithin is an ingredient that has made its way into almost everything, just like High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Invented in 1847 by a French Chemist, lecithin was then isolated from egg yolk.  It is used mainly as an emulsifier and helps to prevent sticking when used in food.  Soon it became able to isolate the lecithin in soy and hence is where we are at now.

The problem is that soy lecithin really is in so much different types of food and some people are starting to develop allergies to it.  It is derived from soy so it is expected that some people who are allergic to soy products would henceforth be allergic to soy lecithin but that is not always the case.  Some common allergies are gas/bloating, nausea, diarrhea, rashes, itches, and difficulty breathing.

What I want to know, is why soy lecithin is in things in the first place.  Chocolate covered raisins, for example, used to be made with tempered chocolate and sugar and it covered the raisins.  You would get some dark chocolate and melt in and stir some sugar and melt and keep warm until properly tempered and then you would dip the raisins in it.  Now, that same end product has sugar and high fructose corn syrup in it, as well as a load of preservatives like perhaps sodium bicarbonate or even soy lecithin.  The thing is with chocolate, that if the chocolate was tempered and mixed properly, you will not need soy lecithin.  This means that it makes it so less quality or production can be used to still make a good product.  But what starts to falter is the ingredients as with every new preservative or thing that comes out, there isn't any new research done.  Europe has banned high fructose corn syrup from their food and candy.  Why?  Because there hasn't been enough research to make it safe and while you may think that it can't be an issue, then why are so many American products coming out with sugar again and without high fructose corn syrup?  Pepsi Throwback, soda made with real sugar, that's insane!

what is wrong with meat??

A recent trend is that meat is bad for you and vegetables are good. While a diet with reduced red meat can help fight off cancer or heart disease, others think that a diet without meat of any kind is somehow better than you. These people either say that it is healthier or claim that because of the increasing greenhouse gases or ground house with current livestock supervision that it is better for our environment to not eat meat and thus not have that many animals around.

Is it really? Let's look at some facts:

1. Scientists have yet to find a civilization that has existed purely on vegetarian foodstuffs. Which means that none lived long enough.
2. Our bodies, by their very nature, are omnivores, not herbivores.
3. One of the deciding factors in how human beings evolved to become smart, is because humans ate meat and fats. No matter how you look at it, your brain is composed of mostly fats and protein. You can not repair damaged nerves by eating a carrot, no matter how many carrots you eat.
4. Proteins from other sources is welcomed and in some cases people are eating a lot of soy. There is still an open debate on soy as to whether it is bad or good for humans but one truth is that it contains large amounts of the female hormone estrogen. Scientists still don't have enough real data as to whether or not the high estrogen levels are good for men or children. (Also, soy milk tastes like chalk.)

I love the zealots who say that meat is full of toxins and dangerous chemicals. I wonder where they get their meats? Meat that is either freshly butchered or sold in places like Whole Foods where it is farm raised or organic raised, tend to not have that bad stuff in them. It is just meat. So, there you go zealots, one point for me, none for you.

While I don't condone the growth of animals for food, I do enjoy the food. I know that the force feeding of geese is horrible but the foie gras tastes delicious. As a chef, I really don't care about the animals, to some extent. If the animals were killed humanly then the meat will not undergo stiffening and can be more tender. So the killing of the animals has to be done quickly and without trauma or drama.