Is BOCA brand food REALLY the animal friendly choice?!
The BOCA brand is owned by Kraft foods. Innocent enough, but Kraft is owned by Altria Group (previously known as Philip Morris). Altria/Philip Morris is probably one of the least ethical, animal-friendly companies to ever exist, personally responsible for making products that have killed more HUMANS than both world wars combined and then some (and extensive animal testing too).
To top it all off, the BOCA company's burgers, after testing, show to be made of GMO ingredients, some of which are as harmful as Roundup-herbicide soy . Remember, Roundup is made by Monsanto, the villain behind the hormones administered to dairy cows to boost milk production.
In a sense buying BOCA just lines the pockets of Philip-Morris/Altria, does it not? It is indirectly just as cruel as the non-veg option?
Try to be civil in response, even if you disagree. I personally feel BOCA is terrible in taste on top of it.
Answers: Is BOCA burger in any way animal friendly, other than it's not made of meat?
The BOCA brand is owned by Kraft foods. Innocent enough, but Kraft is owned by Altria Group (previously known as Philip Morris). Altria/Philip Morris is probably one of the least ethical, animal-friendly companies to ever exist, personally responsible for making products that have killed more HUMANS than both world wars combined and then some (and extensive animal testing too).
To top it all off, the BOCA company's burgers, after testing, show to be made of GMO ingredients, some of which are as harmful as Roundup-herbicide soy . Remember, Roundup is made by Monsanto, the villain behind the hormones administered to dairy cows to boost milk production.
In a sense buying BOCA just lines the pockets of Philip-Morris/Altria, does it not? It is indirectly just as cruel as the non-veg option?
Try to be civil in response, even if you disagree. I personally feel BOCA is terrible in taste on top of it.
No, I don't think that it is an animal or human friendly choice. I agree with an above poster who said their main target was omnivores, but I think new vegetarians and vegans are also being targeted. My personal opinion is that processed food is never good for you no matter what form it comes in. I mean, I am as guilty as the next guy for using it from time to time, but now seeing this I will try to cut as many Kraft products off of my grocery list as possible.
On a different note, I am amazed and pleasantly surprised that veggers, vegans, omnis and even trolls came together on this question. I mean what Maggie posted here really doesn't have to do so much with dietary choices as it does being scammed as a consumer by a company that has sent millions to their deaths. I only noticed one nasty reply from a purported vegan, I am not sure why she felt she needed to report you Maggie. Immaturity, I presume. I can't imagine that YA will listen to her.
Anyways, here is a a star!!
hi, i don't think i have ever had anything from that brand and after the information you have just given i would definitely not touch them!
what an awful company, i am sure that people who are veggie/vegan will find your information really interesting if they didn't already know.
people can then decide if they still want to buy BOCA burgers!
Thank you for the info!
I don't even like boca burgers..any news on Garden burger? I think they taste so much better! or hell I will make my own!
Interesting info. Do you have any websites that can show the actual studies? I'd be interested in that.
But just like everything, any little bit we can do to help animals and our planet helps. I am vegetarian because I don't believe in the cruelty to animals (and I don't like meat anyway) and feel that we can probably find something wrong with everything we consume unless we grow everything ourselves organically, and most of us just can't do that. We have to eat something to survive!
EDIT: Ok, I'm a dork, lol, I see your website listings now that I re read the question!
Actually, I learned about the link between Phillip-Morris and several food companies a few years ago, even before I went vegan.
And that's why I don't buy Boca Burgers.
Boca meat alternatives are only one of the hundreds of products affiliated with Altria/Phillip-Morris. Brands include:
Alpine, Basic, Benson & Hedges, Best, Bond Street, Bristol, Bucks, Cambridge, Chesterfield, Classic, Collector's Choice, Commander, Crystal Light, Daim, Drina, English Ovals, F6, Gevalia, Jacobs coffee, Kaffee HAG, Kool-Aid, Kraft, L&M, Lark, Marlboro, Maxwell House, Merit, Milka, Miracle Whip, Miracoli dinners, Morava, Nabisco biscuits, Next, Oscar Mayer, Parliament, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Players, Post Cereals, Sampoerna, Saratoga, Shake 'n' Bake, Suchard cocoa, Tang, Toblerone, Tombstone pizzas, Vegemite, Virginia Slims, West.
Maggie it is a rarity that you and I agree on things, but this question is one that I have asked before and I agree with you. I think it is VERY hypocritical for a vegan or a vegetarian to buy Boca burgers for this very reason. Phillip Morris is a monster, so it is very likely that they would produce a product that is "supposed" to be healthy and fill it full of chemicals so veggies could become addicted to it. Processed food is just as bad for you as meat products.
Anyways, if vegans are wanting to reduce suffering, I think they need to look at the companies they support. Eating Boca burgers to me is no better then buying a steak in the meat section.
Angel- It is a violation to tell someone that you have reported them. This question is valid and there is no basis for you to report it, just because you didn't like what the content said. Also, if you want to get technical you didn't answer Maggie's question, which is a violation itself.
Good question Maggie, we may not always see eye to eye, but I am a big enough man to admit when I see useful information.
While it seems BOCA is not so animal friendly, it is animal friendlier than it's top competitor... beef. But, BOCA is only one of many companies owned by Phillip-Morris. Hell, I think those "truth" anti smoking ads are actually owned by Phillip-Morris. To me, BOCA doesn't really taste that good, so making homemade veggie burgers is probably the best option in this case (giant falafel patties anyone?).
If you tell me Morningstar Farms is evil... I'm going to go curl up into a ball and cry.
Alas! Black-bean burgers... we hardly knew ye!
::edit::
Oh look! A fallen angel!
I would say no. I doesn't sound like it's an ethical or healthy choice. Not many processed foods are. It's funny to here people saying how bad fast food restaurants are when this stuff is just as unhealthy.
Don't forget that Monsanto also developed the seeds for the GMO crops and is owned by Pharmacia, the drug company that will sell the drugs to treat you after years of consuming the pesticide drowned produce that they sold you.
Remember these companies when you're out there viewing both veger and meater websites. These are some of the companies that control the information your fed and too many of you ingest as if life itself depended on it.
Good question.
No, and it's why I don't buy Boca burgers, and I won't eat them unless it's the only vegan choice. Morningstar Farms is owned by Kellogg's, I believe. And sadly, Lightlife is owned by ConAgra. I prefer Amy's because they're the best tasting and use organic ingredients. They also don't have chemical crap in their foods (read the label, you'll see).
I strive to buy foods labeled either organic or no GMOs. Let's face it, vegans want tasty food, and sometimes it means an analogue. I'll buy the ones that have ingredients I can pronounce, thankyouverymuch.
This is a valid question that goes beyond the surface of Veggie/Vegan ~ More than just the immediate what you put in your mouth. It's the equivalent of how big is your "Carbon footprint". Because as you point out it's related to so much more than a single product, it's the company that now owns it & everything they do..PERIOD. Sadly many Healthy companies start out small & are gobbled up by big groups leaving us stuck with what is left.
The otherside is the GMO, & health related problems. Also Soy is a high allergen, soy is also proven not healthy in the aspect than when consumed non-fermented it acts as a "Female Hormone' in the body.
The only way to get away from this is to buy locally & make your own foods, using less pre-made products.
Here's the website for Local Harvest.
http://www.localharvest.org/
Their latest newsletter (free) came out this
morning.
Slainté (to your health)
you make a great point, although i think it is unfair to single out BOCA. The sad truth of the marketplace today is that most national brands are owned by other larger companies which in turn own other companies somewhere along the line one of these companies is going to be doing something unethical, this is why shopping ethically can be so difficult. What this really is to me is the arguement for eating local products whenever possible. That being said, even though you may not agree with everything this giant company does, buying the BOCA segment of their product line is hardly akin to financing studies on how to get teens to smoke more. Part of consumer power is in not spending money, and part of it is in spending money, when you buy a product like BOCA you announce vegetarians as part of a viable and desirable market segment. Big companies notice where they are making money and cater to those segments.
In a perfect world, I'd say refuse to buy them.
But... in many small towns, Boca products are the only ones available. In fact, modified foods are pretty difficult to escape in a lot of small towns- 2/3 of all processed foods contain GMO ingredients, and it's difficult to figure out which produce and baked goods are 'unmodified' - and not all modifications are necessarily negative.
I'd say that iif someone buys Boca burgers, it sends a message to Altria - more money into arms of their company that don't engage in meat products and that vegetarianism is profitable.
If I were still living in a small town, it would be nearly impossible to buy foods that were wholly cruelty free and ethically sound - kraft, nestle, hersheys, mars, kimberly clark, proctor and gamble, l'oreal, colgate-palmolive, pom, masterfoods... that covers literally hundreds, if not thousands, of products.
I didn't know any of that.
Honestly, I never bought BOCA products before (I don't like the taste, and I think I might be mildly allergic), but I won't even consider it in the future. What's one more boycott? ;)
Also, I'm curious as to what Angel reported you for ... asking a question about vegetarianism in the Vegetarian and Vegan section ...?
I feel the same way about SILK soymilk. They are owned by Dean Foods, America's largest dairy supplier.
Best study and information but only solution is to consume organic food which is free from all such evils. Organic food means natural 100 % , and nature do not do any injustice any natural living or non living things . So we have to find out the brand where it is titled that the items is prepared with organic ingredients. Nothing else can be done because the adulteration is common for every one being commercial profit making business.
I had no idea about this! Thanks for the valuable info, I will no longer buy anything Boca. To be honest, I don't really like their stuff anyway.
What about Morning Star Farms? I love their products!
In my retarded opinion, this is where veganism has a very tough time. If you really wanted to get critical, you could state that NO product is animal friendly.
Even the MOST animal friendly solutions use people that are not animal friendly to be made. It takes resources, machines, labor, money, etc. to make any product you consume. Each of those products can involve cruelty or mistreatment of animals somewhere in their history.
With that in mind, the only way to prevent animal cruelty is to not buy products of any kind. I don't see that happening any time soon.
**Anil, where do you get that "nature" does not do anything unkind or cruel? Have you ever been outside? Obviously you have never seen ants eat. You have never seen a male squirrel eat its own young. You have never seen cruelty in nature? Then I offer that you have never seen nature...
I stopped buying Boca products after learning about the stuff you just mentioned about a year ago. The target market for Boca products is really omnivores anyway. They are designed to help a person reduce their intake of meat. Fortunately I graduated from veggie burgers and learned how to cook with legumes. I haven't heard anything bad about Dr. Praeger's burgers, Amy''s burgers, etc. Maybe you can try them if you want a replacement.
I hate sellouts.
Make your own vege burgers. All it takes is TVP, soy protein powder, vital wheat gluten and whatever seasoning you desire.
I like to use BBQ sauce, liquid smoke, onion and garlic powders.
Just form patties and fry.