One of the primary reasons that people switch to a vegan diet is because they are interested in eating in a more self-conscious manner; that is to say, they want to be aware of everything that they are consuming, and make informed decisions based on personal beliefs about physical, emotional, and spiritual health. It is of course possible to adhere to this consumptive belief system no matter which type of diet one chooses; as Richard Manning puts it in The Oil We Eat, from the February 2004 issue of Harper's Magazine:
Animal rights aside, vegetarians can lose the edge in the energy argument by eating processed food, with its ten calories of fossil energy for every calorie of food energy produced. The question, then, is: Does eating processed food such as soy burger or soy milk cancel the energy benefits of vegetarianism, which is to say, can I eat my lamb chops in peace? Maybe. If I've done my due diligence, I will have found out that the particular lamb I am eating was both local and grass-fed, two factors that of course greatly reduce the embedded energy in a meal. I know of ranches here in Montana, for instance, where sheep eat native grass under closely controlled circumstances—no farming, no plows, no corn, no nitrogen. Assets have not been stripped.
What is the Energy Footprint of the Food You Eat?
This issue of processed food, then, is a natural question of any conscientious consumer; what is the complete energy footprint of the food choices one makes? Certainly, eating a vegan diet in general leads to a smaller footprint; but eating products made from highly-processed corn, such as veggie burgers, contains a much higher accumulation of energy, in the big picture, than the aforementioned lamb chops.
What, then, to do with the conundrum of textured vegetable protein (TVP)? TVP is a highly versatile and completely vegan meat-substitute that can be used in place of any recipe that calls for ground beef. It provides a ready and convenient source of the protein and essential amino acids that are so often the most challenging aspects of a vegan diet. It is also, however, produced by an industrial process that is almost impossible to reproduce on a personal basis in the home; tofu or seitan, with a little time and energy, can be made at home, bypassing larger scale productions and minimizing the energy footprint. TVP, however, does not have this advantage.
TVP is Easy to Use and Easy on the Earth
The flip side, and the reason for TVP's continued popularity, is that it is easy to use, and, if bought in bulk at a health-food store, can be minimally intrusive to the environment. There is no doubt that homemade seitan offers an even lower energy footprint, while still providing all the protein and amino acids necessary for a healthy diet; but it is an indisputable fact that TVP offers an exponentially greater variety of meal alternatives to any vegan diet than one without it. TVP can be used in any recipe that calls for ground beef, or mixed with vegan refried beans and Mexican Rice for a delicious Mexican feast... the possibilities are truly endless. In the end, of course, adherents to a vegan diet must make their own decisions about such matters.
