Free Republic

The Impossible Burger is made from familiar components: a blend of wheat, coconut oil, and potato protein. But the Stanford biochemist who founded the company manufactures the ingredients in such a way as to mimic the aroma, texture, and taste of beef. Think of it as the vegetable version of an industrial canned sausage. The addition of leghemoglobin, a protein found in leguminous plants, is what supposedly imparts some variants of the Impossible Burger with a pink or even “bloody” interior.

WASHINGTON - A popular snack food sold nationwide is being recalled because of concerns about contamination. All lots and sizes of Veggie Booty Snack Food are being recalled, the company said, following a report of 51 cases of salmonella poisoning that may be associated with the product. Georgine Hertzwig of Robert's American Gourmet in Sea Cliff, N.Y., said the company acted after the Food and Drug Administration contacted them about the illnesses in 17 states.Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea,...

Veni, vidi, veggie... By Tom Leonard, Media Editor (Filed: 02/03/2004) Roman gladiators were overweight vegetarians who lived on barley and beans, according to a scientific study of the largest gladiator graveyard discovered. Analysis of the bones of more than 70 gladiators recently found near Ephesus, the Roman capital of Asia Minor, puts paid to traditional Hollywood images of macho carnivores with the physique of boxers. The dietary findings of the scientists from the University of Vienna are detailed in a forthcoming documentary on Channel Five. They may give vegetarians a new, harder image. But the vegetarian stereotype is shattered by...

Germany's self-confessed cannibal killer Armin Meiwes has been sent a vegetarian cookbook and a Christmas hamper full of veggie burgers and tofu. Animals rights group Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is behind the stunt and says it would be a major coup if it could convert Meiwes to vegetarianism. Meiwes is on trial for killing, dismembering and eating the flesh of another man. He has admitted killing and eating his victim, but denies it was murder. Peta is hoping the mouth-watering recipes in the book and the hamper of vegetarian foods will persuade him to mend his...