Last week I posted a funny story about how I discovered a selection of Bob’s Red Mill products at the local Big Lots store.
I received a couple of emails and comments from folks about this post mentioning that they were happy to hear that Bob’s Red Mill is a brand I trust.
After chewing on this for a few days, I’ve realized that clarification of my unintentional plug for Bob’s Red Mill products was necessary!
The fact is, Bob’s Red Mill is most decidedly not a brand I trust. While I do indeed use a few of their products and find them to be high quality, there are a number of products in the Bob’s Red Mill line that are extremely unhealthy and ones that I would never consider buying.
Note the picture to the right.  Bob’s Red Mill carries a product called “TVP”.  TVP stands for Textured Vegetable Protein, better known to those of us in the Traditional Food World as MSG loaded, thyroid weakening, backside expanding, hair falling out of your head producing, can’t get off the couch fatigue-inducing soy protein.
In short, TVP should be avoided like the plague.
The product next to the TVP is Hemp Protein Powder.  Hemp protein powder is also another product I would take great pains to avoid eating at all costs.  All protein powders contain MSG and are nothing but highly processed denatured ingestibles (I can’t even bring myself to call it food) no matter who markets them. I wrote a post about this a while back called Ditch That Protein Powder if you want to know more.
Whey protein, in particular, is extremely fragile and cannot ever be powdered or dried.
“Trust in a brand” implies that the use of any of the products in the brand’s product line would bring no harm to the consumer and contain acceptable ingredients. Bob’s Red Mill does not come close to qualifying based on that definition.
People Gain Our Trust, Not Brands
I put my trust in people, never brands. The people I trust who produce my food may have a brand of products that I use, but I don’t trust their products, I trust them. Because I trust them and understand and agree with their food philosophy, I buy their products.
It’s a bit of a chicken and egg thing.
The reason I don’t trust the brand is because the folks I trust might choose to sell that brand one day (which is fine and totally their prerogative – this is a capitalist country after all)Â to a Big Food company.
Then, all of a sudden, the brand is cheapened and its ingredients or method of production no longer acceptable.
Has this ever happened to you?  A brand you thought you “trusted” that had excellent ingredients and that you used for years suddenly was sold unbeknownst to you to a large food corporation that did a bait and switch with the ingredients?
The reason this happens is because the person you trusted who originated the brand is now out of the picture due to the buyout.  The brand then goes to the dogs even though the name and the marketing remain the same.
This is why you must always put your trust in people through buying locally or from small scale producers in other locations that you ideally know personally or at the very least, can talk to on the phone directly.
It’s another reason why you need to frequently check the ingredients label of the brands you do buy unless you personally know the owner and are in contact with them on occasion. Otherwise, you are at risk for The Big Fast One.
Big Food loves to pull The Big Fast One on the consumer. It is a favored marketing technique that explains why so many little organic food companies have been gobbled up over the past 10 years and continue to be acquired at a rapid rate.
Check out this chart by clicking here. Can you believe all the little organic food company acquisitions by Big Food over the past few years?
Big Food is attempting to buy consumer trust with this acquisition strategy.
I don’t know about you, but you can’t buy my trust. You have to earn it.
I’ll bet some of your favorite healthy “brands” are in fact owned by Big Food and you didn’t even realize it! Â Doesn’t this shocking visual help to cement the notion that people, preferably local people, and not brands, should really be the focus of our trust?
Wow! ALL protein powders? Are you really, really certain? I find it hard to believe that Dr. Mercola’s whey protein powder has MSG. I haven’t used it, but he really seems like a principled man and seems to oppose all us additives. I understand and agree with the point of trusting the person, not the brand. However, the blanket statement that you made could be a problem if it turns out that you are mistaken. Have you, in fact, checked non-whey isolates?
Sandra
Dr. Mercola is wrong on this one. Separating the protein from whatever food source forms msg even at low temps (although less is formed this way). It also denatures the protein which is another problem which causes health problems down the road. Check out
Have you noticed that Jennie’s macaroons, which are listed as a resource in “Eat Fat, Lose Fat” by Sally Fallon & Mary Enig, are now made with dehydrated cane juice rather than honey? I don’t buy them often, but noticed new packaging only to find new ingredients. Perfect example of why not to trust brands.
Thanks for posting this Tessa. I’ll bet Jennie’s macaroons was bought out by a Big Food company. Once a consumer starts buying a brand, rarely do they check the ingredients ever again, so the company can safely cheapen the product, increase profits, and lose little business. Very deceptive way to operate which is why brand trust is very much misplaced.
Well, on a good note, I just finally got over to Big Lots to check out the famous endcap, and lo and behold, my store had it too! I read the labels, grabbed all the ones I thought I could use, and then also found Cascal Fermented Natural Soda for sale there too! It’s “crafted by independent brewers for nexstep beverages, LLC Houston TX”. I grabbed a few to try out. Perhaps I just haven’t been looking in the right spots, but I haven’t seen a beverage like this for sale before. And then I came back to report my victory on finding Bob’s Red Mill products at Big Lots and found your post. Funny! I read the labels on pretty much everything I buy, but I’ll tell you, it’s not easy when you have 3 little children with you that will start sucking on the cart if you take too long.
LOL I love your description of TVP… I couldn’t have said it better myself!
I absolutely agree that we all need to check the labels on any store products we do buy because we just had what I thought was a reputable company completely change up their ingredients to pure junk and it’s as plain as can be it was simply to cheapen it so that they could continue to sell it for their ridiculously high prices anyhow. Well, they don’t sell it to me anymore 🙂 Just reminded me to not be buying any products with labels on them and rather grow my own.
I found this post through a Food Renegade post on facebook. This is a great post and I’ve seen the diagram a few times here and there. We’ve cut out buying so much that comes in packages and I’m grateful for all the local farmers around us who, for the fast few months, have provided us with most of our food. We also have a garden (but it was a poor producer this year).
One thing I found interesting was the protein powder part. I’ve never bought any or thought of buying any, but I follow the Organic Authority on facebook and there was an article and video she (they?) posted recently about a particular brand; The Organic Whey. Her article says that organic whey is the only ingredient. So would that be okay?
If it’s powdered then no, it wouldn’t be ok as it would be denatured.
sarah is unpasteurized soy sauce bad for you?? we use ohsawa nama shoyu but rarely ever use it… we could do without no prob..
-jason and lisa-
I use the same brand. I don’t “trust” it though. I read the label again everytime I buy it.
im the same way.. thanks so much..
-jason and lisa-
Well how about supporting the products that Bob’s Red Mill makes that you do like. Unlike all the other small natural companies that started yrs ago, Bob didn’t sell out to Big Food. In fact he gave the company to his employees. A commendable thing in my eyes. And the best way to help a company change and meet the demands of smart consumers is to buy the products you like and don’t buy the ones you find offensive. I’ve never thought Bob’s was a bad company because I think TVP is a fraud. They make many products I like and will use and I commend Bob for not selling out to Big Food.
Hi Rob, I don’t mean to suggest that Bob’s Red Mill is a bad company. Clearly this is not the case. Just that I don’t trust the brand as I don’t know anyone who works there personally and who is involved in the day to day decision making.
You’re right– I am shocked by the number of acquistions by Big Food Companies. I always read labels, regardless, but I am still disturbed by the fact that these brands are being acquired… and at a seemingly alarming rate!
I don’t trust any of those Big Food Companies… period.
Excellent point! This is all too true. I feel this way about so many grocery store items. Just because I trust a single product to be made well doesn’t mean I trust the entire brand. Organic Pastures Pastured Butter comes to mind. I love the bright yellow, seasonal butter. Since I don’t own a cow, buying their Pastured Butter is cheaper than making my own from the grass-fed cream I buy from my farmer. But does that mean that I “trust the brand”? Does that mean that I would stand by while someone bought their no-fat sour cream (how do you get a NO FAT CREAM anyway)? And what about how they’ve forbidden their co-op farmers from also selling raw milk directly to consumers? No, there’s no brand loyalty here. Just an individual product loyalty that will last only as long as that particular product meets my expectations.
Once again, a great article Sarah. I have bought BRM products in the past (not so much since going grain/starch free for GAPS) and he does have good stuff. But soy and such always find a way to creep in!! I do have ‘preferred’ brands that I buy but I never fail to read the ingredients. Or keep informed about what a company might be doing. Case in point: Santa Cruz company and their support of GMOs. I read an article linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s blog: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23708.cfm I have since decided not to buy their products anymore (this only included organic lemon juice and lemonades). I can’t say this will not inconvenience me but I’ve seen too much damage done by GMO crops to ever willingly support any company who thinks they’re ‘OK’.