When a processed food label includes the word “eggs” in the ingredients list, it typically means dehydrated or powdered eggs as opposed to fresh, real eggs.
Used as early as 1912 in camp cooking and for food rationing in the United Kingdom during WWII, powdered eggs are made by spray drying real eggs in a manner similar to how powdered milk is produced.
Powdered eggs are preferred by food manufacturers over fresh eggs as they have a long shelf life, easier shipping and storage (no need for refrigeration) and significantly lower price.
Powdered eggs are used as is without any rehydration for baking and can be easily reconstituted with water for making scrambled eggs and omelettes by the restaurant industry.
The major health related problem with powdered eggs is that the spray drying process oxidizes the cholesterol in the egg. Oxidized cholesterol contributes to heart disease whereas undamaged, unoxidized cholesterol in fresh eggs does not.
While oxidized cholesterol is certainly a concern, at least powdered eggs are actually made from real eggs!
Now, processed eggs are about to go even further down the rabbit hole by going vegan!
Hampton Creek Foods, a company with interest from the likes of billionaire investor Bill Gates, has developed a powdered egg substitute made entirely of plant matter.
Vegan CEO Josh Tetrick explains that his company’s Beyond Eggs egg-substitute was created by completely deconstructing a real egg, analyzing its 22 special functions, and then reconstructing nature’s perfect food using nothing but plant material.
The unappetizing grey-green powder that resulted is made from sunflower lecithin, canola, peas, and natural gums from tree sap. It must be reconstituted with water to use. Tetrick claims Beyond Eggs tastes just like the real thing, but one has to wonder how a vegan would know this.
Given that the product is not organic, the canola used is most likely genetically modified. Beyond Eggs is nearly 20% cheaper than even battery-produced eggs.
Tetrick envisions Beyond Eggs as a replacement for the real and powdered eggs currently used in processed foods like mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and factory made muffins and cookies. Eggs supplying these sources account for roughly one third of the 79 billion eggs produced in the United States alone every year.
Tetrick insists that the motivation for Beyond Eggs is about economics and not about the morality of eating animal foods.
“I think the reason people like Bill Gates are interested in this is that the world population is expanding to 9 billion, and people are going to need good cheap sources of protein. Some of the economics of meat production, particularly around feed, aren’t good.”
Hampton Creek Foods already has two major Fortune 500 companies as customers. One of these has plans to use Beyond Eggs in a line of products marketed as egg free. The other is staying on the down low for the time being.
Beyond Eggs will be available online in the next one to two weeks. After that, it will likely be available through major retailers.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source: You Can’t Tell That This New, Cheap Egg Substitute is Made from Plants
Josh Tetrick via Facebook
Hey Steve and Paul – I think free range is much better than 99% of the eggs we eat. And I applaud people who make it a habit of choosing that option. That’s all. I think plants are also very healthy and sustainable, too. And if we can make them less expensive, well, then more people might have healthy food :).
bianca
Josh, although you seem well-intentioned I doubt your sincerity. How were you raised? DId you eat wholesome, organically grown foods? Yes, Healthy plants grown in rich nourishing soil are healthy for us…. but not when they are molested in any way.
You need to seek out traditional cultures, explore and nourish the wisdom they have gleaned, living close to the earth. My wish for you is that you will change your M.O.
Mary MacDonald via Facebook
Those of you who think Bill Gates is trying to depopulate the earth through his support of vaccinations–please explain. What are your sources? I’ve done a cursory search on the web, and I can’t find anything credible.
Natural Nutrition Nurse
google his TED talk on vaccinations where he states with his own mouth how much the world population can be reduced through vaccines. It should be pretty easy to find on youtube.
Natalya Frolova via Facebook
Very useful article, thank you for this information
Anne
Hey Sarah,
I think you might want to read some other articles about them. Josh says they are an “unapologetically mission-based company.” Their main drive is relieving battery cage hens’ suffering. Being better for the environment and heart healthy are added bonuses.
And what is so bad about a cholesterol-free substitute? I’d rather eat an egg made from plants than some adulterated version of a tortured hen’s menstrual cycle.
Also – most people aren’t born vegan. I’m sure Josh remembers what regular eggs taste like.
PS – Don’t forget about the male chicks – whether battery cage or cage free – all meet with the wood chipper.
Iris Melgar via Facebook
Who uses the powdered eggs to begin with?
Lisa S
Iris, a lot of hotels and buffet style restaurants use powdered eggs.
Mary
I’m in E. WA. What pizza place is this that you speak of??
SteveandPaula Runyan via Facebook
Josh I’ll ask the same question here, as I did on the blog. If you feel pasture based is best, then why do you not take advantage of eating those? And why not use your position to start up and promote the real deal?
Paul Hardiman via Facebook
We probably should rethink food in terms of being a commodity. It’s OK with me if electronics are mass produced, but can I really say the same for food?
Josh
Thanks for caring about making our food system healthier. I’m the CEO of the company in the article. I think eating sustainable, free-range eggs is so much better than 99% of the eggs we eat. Sadly, most of these eggs come from unsafe (avian flu) and inhumane (female birds packed body to body in small cages) places that don’t always reflect our values. And we only use plant-based sources; nothing chemically created. Here if you have any questions, anytime.
lacie
Well at least he’s honest.
Paula
I have a question. You state that free range eggs are best. Then why are you settling for less? Why are you not eating and promoting free range eggs, and even getting smaller pasture based farms set up?
Alek
Exactly – instead of putting MORE processed foods on the market. I don’t care how PC it is, it’s still artificial “food.”
And isn’t it better for animals and the environment to support local farmers, and/or grow your own food, than to support yet MORE factories that make processed foods?
Dawn
Josh, thanks for taking the time to reply in a considerate manner. I also have concerns about the standards in agri-food business and the humane treatment of food animals such as chickens; but I am even more concerned about GMO’s and their affect on global ecology. Does your product use genetically modified ingredients?
Anthony
But are these plant-based sources safe for human consumption from a long-term perspective? Not everything that’s taken from plants is good for digestion and health in general. From a consumer standpoint, it just seems like another fabricated food that has any number of long-term consequences. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
Josh
Hey Anthony – They are. You already consume most of them. And all are already approved by the FDA. You might even grow them in your garden! I really appreciate you taking the time to talk about this; we need more people focusing on how to improve our food system. – Josh
Natural Nutrition Nurse
In my opinion FDA stands for Federal Death Administration so them approving anything is not a selling point for me. I do appreciate your diplomatic responses here on a site that promotes the anti vegan diet. I can appreciate a good source of protein for people who thanks to years of eating franken diets are now allergic to foods most humans have eaten for thousands of years. Since I tolerate pastured eggs excellently well I will stick with those. Thank you for caring about the treatment of animals. Most of us traditional food eaters care very much about this too. We know humans can not be truly healthy without the consumption of animals and their by products but we want sustainable and healthy animals that lived and ate the way nature intended. We must all return to being good stewards of this planet; our health depends on it.
Helen T
Perfectly stated! Unfortunately mass allergies are the new normal and people are forgetting this is not the natural state of affairs.
JenG
Hey Josh, I thought your Beyond Egg might be part of the company that creates ‘Beyond Meat’ fake chicken. But apparently not. The thing is, most of the vegan, meat substitutes do use pretty poor ingredients, for example Beyond Meat chicken substitute. (I looked into these during a short period of being vegan or veganish). Who knows what all the highly processed soy and vegetable oils (soy protein isolate or something similar and also canola are quite common in these) will do to people who use these products long term. I’ll be interested to see what the ingredients are in your product; if it’s decent quality, then I see it could be potentially beneficial. Of course, it can’t replace a good pasture-raised egg, but as you say most eggs are not this and there are serious issues with conventional animal agriculture, and maybe your product (if it’s decent quality) can be used beneficially in some applications for some people.
Thanks for stopping by and being kind and open-minded.
JenG
Follow-up additional comment:
Concerning these vegan substitutes, I want to say that I think Daiya “cheese” is a pretty good vegan cheese substitute. No, it’s not cheese, but there’s no soy and no GMO ingredients. The only thing is it’s pretty pricey. Around $5.00 for a small bag or container, but I’ve used it and the ingredients are better than some vegan ‘substitute’ items (for example Trader Joe’s Vegan cheese is full of crap ingredients). Just wanted to folllow-up on my comment about these type products, because some are better than others (much better). Hey, not everyone can even eat cheese and some don’t want to (the conventional dairy industry is one of the most cruel of all).
Best wishes…
Josh Tetrick via Facebook
Hey all – Thanks for caring about all this. I’m the CEO of the company in the article. I think eating sustainable, free-range eggs is so much better than 99% of the eggs we eat. Sadly, most of these eggs come from unsafe (avian flu) and inhumane (female birds packed body to body in small cages) places that don’t always reflect our values. And we only use plant-based sources; nothing chemically created. Here if you have any questions, anytime.