COTTONSEED OIL, WEIRD TASTING SULTANAS, AND PSEUDOSCIENCE.

COTTONSEED OIL, WEIRD TASTING SULTANAS, AND PSEUDOSCIENCE.

Gosh! I never thought I would have gotten some of the reactions I received from my last article:

VEGANS, BE VIGILANT. BE VERY VIGILANT.

The article features sultanas that taste like agent orange - not that I have tasted agent orange, you know what I am saying, right? Maybe you don’t get what I am saying… I will try to clear any issues up in a bit… Hang in there!

Then the article mentions the possible dangers of cooking with oils such as coconut; when the oil burns at a high temperature it is said to release carcinogens. I will also give you more info on that too! There again, it seems that people don’t have a problem with the possible dangers of cooking with oils. Uh-uh! Some people have a problem with the fact that my recent purchase of Tesco branded sultanas have a weird chemical taste to them…

CHEMICAL REACTION
I was a little taken aback with some of the responses coming from people professing to be “Vegan” with regards to my weird tasting sultanas. I had a few people listing the chemical composition of apples and strawberries, which was quite peculiar. Then one person was going on about not liking the taste of grapefruit or mushrooms in a Homer or Marge Simpson moment. C’mon, really (to all of the above)???

I even managed to get banned from a couple of “Vegan” groups through grown adults using the term “clickbait”. Can you imagine? Grown adults using such a redundant term as “click bait” in 2017??? Maybe these “Vegans” are lacking something…

Like I am going to tell people not to purchase a certain food because it “tastes funny”. It's not like I ate a clown. [tumbleweed] I ate something that's a staple in my diet and it tasted abnormal.

I guess some people are pathologically vapid whereby they have to find fault where there is none; it’s as though the lives of these people don’t mean much if they aren’t challenging someone or something. Oh, well…

Some of these people want to talk chemical composition when it is clear that I am talking chemical contamination. Hey, if you want to tell me the chemical composition of random fruits then go ahead - whatever turns you on! I get it; you want to show that you're not the malnourished weird animal kidnapping tree hugging neo-hippie uni dropout that people think you are. You have to show off your great intellectual prowess and how adept you are at alienating people. Yeah, good PR work you're doing for Veganism! Bravo! Kudos to you!

To make it easy for such folk who have difficulty in understanding…

Vegetable Oil treated Sultanas = A Pleasing Taste

I have been eating dried fruit treated with vegetable oil for years; I use them in my oatmeal and for snacking on.

Cottonseed Oil treated Sultanas = An Unpleasant Chemical Taste

I don’t see why this is so difficult to comprehend. Do you still want to tell me that I am talking about the taste of the natural chemical composition of a dried grape in the form of a sultana? Do you??? OK… Nevermind… The fact is that I noticed the difference in the taste straight away! Just in case you are still lost, I am talking about the unpleasant taste that suggests chemical contamination and not chemical composition of the sultana. As a result, I will not be consuming any dried fruit treated with cottonseed oil.

This situation reminds me of aspartame; I have read that this artificial sweetener is okay for human consumption. On the contrary, I have read the total opposite. I have read that aspartame is dangerous! Here’s what I have to say about aspartame:

When I used to chew gum with aspartame in it I had some dental issues. My mind said, “Hey, it’s gum! It makes your breath smells nice! TV says it's good, it must be good!” Yet my teeth felt as though they were melting. I stopped consuming chewing gums containing aspartame and, guess what? That’s right… Next to no dental problems! I am sure that someone will take issue with my experience with aspartame. In any event, I am going to trust my innate reaction over anybody’s antagonistic commentary for the sake of it.  

Here are some links that you might find interesting about cottonseed oil:-

GMO

PESTICIDES

SOME BENEFITS

These so-called “Vegans” don’t have a problem researching animal cruelty because it is there right in front of any conscious person. But these “Vegans” would not think to do some research on cottonseed oil to see if there could be anything to further substantiate my reaction to the offending articles.

Imagine, if you will, someone coming to my home who was desperate for some sultanas. There is no way that I could give that person, in all good consciousness, these cottonseed treated sultanas - even if good money was offered to me! I couldn’t do it. They taste foul. I chose to speak out because I do not want anyone to become ill - even if the possibility is remote. I wouldn’t eat these nasty sultanas and I do not think you should either. Well, you have got the links and it is up to you if you want to consume sultanas or anything for that matter containing cottonseed oil.

Not me!

Then you have some absolute fools who cry, “He’s got a link to a blog in that article. He’s using click bait so that people can go to his blog…” Again, these are the rhetoric coming from grown adults! It is unbelievable and in this day and age!

I thought being a “Vegan” is all about love and community. My bad! It seems that some people who happen to not eat meat and dairy can be jealous because of someone else’s creativity. These people try to hide behind an intellect that just isn’t there. A couple of people referred to one of my recipes as “pseudoscience”. Well, I never! LMAO! The funny thing is that I have been posting up my Vegan recipes in those (former) “communities” for a good while. Good riddance if that’s how feeble their minds are! Some people need to look up the terms “Vegan” and “community”.

And now it’s time for…

BEAR THE PSEUDOSCIENCE GUY
Somebody stated something along the lines of, “You make Vegans look stupid with your pseudoscience…” I’m like, “WHAT???”

That person or the persons were on about my meal replacement recipe. I am laughing as I type as these people are so freaking stupid! There is no other expression that’s family friendly. I have to call it as it is.

They are calling this recipe, Midnight Booty Call, a pseudoscience! I don’t know whether to take it as a compliment or to get those particular people some counseling. Let me quickly tell you how I arrived at the Midnight Booty Call in the shortest way possible!

Above: A variant of the Midnight Booty Call. It's über-tasty and very filling!

In bullet points!

1. I forgot to eat a couple of times.

2. I was hungry but it was too late in the night to eat.

3. I had to create something that was nutritious, substantial and yet light.

From the foods that were in my humble abode, the Midnight Booty Call was born. That’s it! I do not see where pseudoscience comes into it.

Ah, 1, 2… Ah, 1, 2, 3, 4… Pseu, pseu, pseudoscience. Nah! It doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Just look at all the meal replacements out there… Would you call them “pseudoscience”??? Some of these things will work for some people and some won’t work for others. I can tell you that Slim Fast worked very well; I lost a good amount of weight on tubs of the chocolate shake. Obviously, you wouldn't be consuming Slim Fast as part of your weight loss program. Oh, look…

… Vegan based protein powders! This is blasphemy! An outrage!

Here’s a definition of the term…

Pseudoscience consists of claims, beliefs, or practices presented as being plausible scientifically, but which are not justifiable by the scientific method.

Does that describe the meal replacement products out there? The science behind meal replacements is simple; provide a liquid or solid alternative to the average breakfast and lunch that contains vitamins and minerals to nourish the body whilst on a low-calorie intake.

Does that describe sports nutrition protein powders? Sports scientists claim that animal based proteins are the best for optimal results. Do you trust this notion? Have they proved this notion scientifically? I don't think so, yet these products are on the shelves, and who knows what harm these chemical and animal concoctions will do in the long term?

Above: A selection of “extractor” blenders that are said to extract all the goodness from fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. People have been known to make smoothies for breakfast and lunch. It's like some “Vegans” have never seen the likes of the Nutribullet; they remind me of that M Night Shyamalan movie, “The Village”. Gee… I wonder why?

Anyway, I blend some ingredients together for a meal replacement (breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner), I get accused of “pseudoscience” wizardry and that I've, singlehandedly, made Veganism look “stupid”. Can you believe that crap?

PROVIDE SCIENTIFIC PROOF?

Okay, let me get this straight… Some of you​ “Vegans” want me to provide scientific proof that my recent batch of sultanas tastes​ of a chemical residue, right? Really? One more time, when food tastes of a nondescript chemical or chemicals then it can't be good, right? No, it's not good!

This is how two-faced some of you are… You want me to prove what I know to be true scientifically when the same “science” is telling you that vaccines are safe when there's evidence to the contrary.

Science has been telling us for the longest time that we live on a spinning ball with composite photographic images for proof.

Oh, but some actor pretending to be a scientist is now saying that the Earth is “oblate - pear-shaped”. For real??? Well, that contradicts the Earth from space “photos”.

Science tells us that density is gravity.

The same science is telling you that the Vegan diet is extremely flawed and that the Caveman diet, which consists of meat and vegetables is the ultimate for us humans.

Yeah, so much for science! Hurrah! Light up those Bunsen burners as we sing a heartfelt tribute to science.

Yet you find that it's perfectly normal to try and ridicule and chastise someone for noticing that his sultanas tastes of an unpalatable chemical residue and not safe to consume. Are you nuts? You need to take a good look into the mirror. You might see an arrogant self-aggrandizing pathological ignoramus looking back at you. I guess you're gonna tell me that you don't eat organic foods. You're an idiot and a hypocrite!

Mic drop

The mic dropped due to density and not gravity as some “scientists” would have it.

Right now my head's killing me… Could it be attributed to these cottonseed oil treated sultanas or the incredible vapidity of some of you so-called “Vegans"?

THE SCIENCE TEST

On the left, cottonseed oil treated sultanas that taste what I imagine agent orange tastes like. The keyword is “imagine”. It tastes like a chemical contamination.  

On the right, non-cottonseed oil treated sultanas which taste like I know sultanas should! It's organic and the oil used is organic sunflower oil.

The organic sultanas (from Holland & Barrett) tastes sweeter, I can also taste the sunflower oil, which isn't unpleasant.

Which one of those sultanas would you eat? Which of those sultanas would you give to your child?

Yeah! You got that that right!

The organic sultanas are considerably more costly compared to the supermarket brand; £4.99 for 500g worth to £3 for 1kg, I'm worth it. Someone suggested washing the cottonseed oil sultanas with warm water. Heck, it's easier for me to purchase a decent brand of sultanas from the off!

COOKING OIL: THE TRUTH

Look, I merely pointed out that certain oils are better suited to frying/high temperatures. And from watching “Food Unwrapped” (Channel 4, UK), I have decided to stop cooking with oil. It's fine if you want to cook with oil. It's no big deal.

Above: I cooked this great meal without the use of oil and it tasted better for it. Now you want to sue me? What? You think this is sorcery? Nooooooo! LMAO! You need to get out more! Keep up the good PR for Veganism. People want to become like you! Just in case it was not clear, I am addressing these fake "Vegans" whose sole purpose it to alienate others for whatever nefarious reason or reasons.

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Bear XOXOXOXOXO

VEGANS, BE VIGILANT. BE VERY VIGILANT.

VEGANS, BE VIGILANT. BE VERY VIGILANT.

Chemically treated vexations! Yesterday, Sunday, 19 March 2017, my day began like any other. Well, actually, I had a bit of a lie-in, but I got up earlier than usual on a Sunday.

I cut open a pack of sultanas, poured some into the palm of my hand and proceeded to munch on 'em. I got a bit of a shock! The taste was off! It tasted like a weird artificial sweetener! But I put it down to the phenomenon of “morning mouth”. Anyway, after emerging from the bathroom, I made a breakfast version of my “Midnight Booty Call”. I had forgotten about the weird tasting sultanas.

MOODY MONDAY

I was awakened by my phone going off; somebody wanted to know if they could build me a website. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine taking out a domain name and have a bunch of people harass you subsequently via phone and email for the purpose of designing you a website? It's freaking annoying! Talk about taking potluck! I'm also annoyed at the amount of tits 'n’ ass fake Facebook profile friend requests I've been getting lately! What's up with that huh?

When I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes I was annoyed to discover that I didn't have enough Ingredients to make another “Midnight Booty Call” derivative for breakfast. So, I had to improvise and put some breakfast together. I went for a simple combination of warm water, oat bran, and sultanas. Again, those weird tasting sultanas! I took a close look at the ingredients, “sultanas and cottonseed oil.” What the hell is “cottonseed oil”? I've never heard of it before.

I Googled “cottonseed oil” and I got a freaking shock! Cottonseed oil is not something we should be consuming - no freaking way! In a nutshell, it's full of chemicals, pesticides, and is used to preserve many foods - processed convenient foods. Usually, dried fruits such as raisins, sultanas, etc are preserved in a combination of vegetable oil and/or sulphur dioxide. It could be that Tesco (and other supermarket brands) have been using cottonseed oil all along which is very disturbing.

However, I noticed straightaway that the Tesco branded sultanas were off. Not only has the price gone up by 5p but it is apparent that Tesco has taken shortcuts to increase its profit margins. Recently, Tesco has been caught cooking the books, claiming to have made huge profits when the opposite was true. So, I can see that Tesco has resorted to the use of dangerous substances in some of its food products in order to keep the costs of production down and the profits up. It is disgusting!

If you, like me, like to use dried fruit in the place of sugar in your cereals you had better stop immediately! If you've been purchasing dried fruits from the supermarket you need to look at the ingredients. You (and I) need to source dried fruits from more reputable retail outlets.

COCONUT​TY

If you've been frying your veggies in coconut oil then you need to stop! When coconut oil burns it releases carcinogens and we ingest cancer causing agents.

If you have been following my recipes that use coconut oil, I urge you to saute your veggies with water instead. This is what I'll be doing from now on!

I've learned about this aspect of coconut oil from 2 sources; the first is from a UK television show, Channel 4, ‘Food Unwrapped’ and the other from an expert on whole food plant based nutrition who I met on Facebook. So, please, stop cooking at high temperatures using virgin coconut oil. If you must fry your food then use refined oils. All oils can produce these carcinogens and I would urge you to stop cooking with oil - refined or not. In any event, I am going to start making a breakfast based on the (in)famous “Midnight Booty Call”. Ha ha! We've got to be vigilant! I am going register my concerns regarding the use of cottonseed oil with the Tesco head office, Customer Services complaints department very soon. If I get a response I will write it up!

You can follow my recipes here: Bear Gene, Vegan Chef

Thank you for reading!

Bear XOXOXOXOXO

CARNIVORISM IS CANNIBALISM BY PROXY

CARNIVORISM IS CANNIBALISM BY PROXY

Every once in awhile I come out of my hypnotic programming and get a slap in the face from reality shock.

Right now, I'm on a bus heading home. It's Saturday night, 18th March 2017. This time last week I was annoyed and stunned all at once. Gosh! I was in my local supermarket and bumped into my friend who so happens to work there. She works at the deli counter - a strange morgue for farmyard animals; it creeps me out to stand there, thankfully, our deep conversations​ take the edge off.

This time last week we were busy shopping, scurrying like city rats in desperation to grab some supplies before the supermarket closes, I'm actually heading to the same supermarket now! I'm hoping to get there before it closes…

We met at the yogurt section by serendipity; she was looking for a new flavor to try, and I was looking to see if there were Vegan alternatives beyond soya. My friend recommended a dairy based yogurt, but that wasn't what annoyed me. I reminded her that I'm a Born Again Vegan and that I don't want to be a part of the dairy industries.

I then went into a bit of a speech that entails how cows are raped with artificial insemination and that the calves become veal. Furthermore, the cows are injected with hormones to increase lactation to the point whereby the udders become abnormally enlarged and very sore with an infection that bleeds into the milk.

WOW! Did I say that? My friend then replied, “Well, knowing that I still want my yogurt!” She laughed and grinned like a moron. She obviously thought that she was funny. But, once upon a time, that would've been my response. So, I was doubly annoyed! Then I became conscious and made an effort to transform my anger into something positive. I decided that saying something profound and true would have more or an impact.

“Once you become conscious you don't want to slip back into a deeper coma…”

You see, my friend fancies herself as being part of the “Truther” wave of awakening consciousness; she makes a great effort to research what's going on in plain sight. It was more important to reach my friend than to excoriate, thus alienating her. When you preach to the perverted they can become even more perverted in defiance and in defense of being belittled. That's not the ethos of Veganism - at least not to me! That's how I left it... I could see that my words managed to hit some kind of register.

FRIDAY, THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY

I was looking for some ideas for my next recipes and, fate intervened once again. My deli friend spotted me at the front end of the shop (the deli is situated at the back); I waved and continued shopping. Sometimes I try to shop incognito to avoid getting drawn into deep, deep conversations​ that see me getting home so late that it's not worth me cooking.

Anyway, seeing as my friend was behind the grotesque farmyard animal morgue counter, I felt it would be nice - as nice as nice can be with body parts on display - to make some time for her. I was sound in the knowledge of being able to leave when I wanted.

Once again, we got into a deep conversation and this time the topic was how we, the masses, are being brainwashed to eat meat and consume dairy products. Her son is currently bodybuilding and she was talking about him getting his source of protein from meat - beef in particular!

Amazingly, some rather compelling intelligence came out of my mouth…

“Think about the bull and how powerful he is… Where does he get his power from? It's from vegetation! So, instead of us humans going to the source of protein i.e. vegetables, we take what we think of as a shortcut by killing the bull and consuming his flesh. It's insane!”

This perplexed my friend and I kept reeling off some intelligent nuggets…

“Some of the most powerful creatures on the Earth are herbivores. Look at the gorilla! The gorilla eats nothing but fruit and veg. Then there are hippos and elephants… You don't see them eating meat…”

My friend doesn't say anything at this point… I can see that she's pondering on what I'm saying…

“There's no doubt that bodybuilders get protein from eating meat but they have to eat an awful lot in order to get a high protein content. Most of what's good in a piece of steak get destroyed in the cooking process. So, the best way to consume meat for the purpose of nutrition is to eat it raw.”

Her face contorts..,

“Your son would be better off eating plenty of green veg such as broccoli. Did you know that broccoli has more protein than a piece of steak?”

“No. I didn't know that…”

“We humans are really stupid; instead of going to the source we go to the middleman - meat! We should be eating fruit and vegetables and nuts! Meat takes a long time to digest (in our systems) and in the process, it's sitting there and rotting. I'm sure that this can't be doing the body any good…”

“No, I guess not…”

Above: Hemp based protein.

“Then look at all the meat-based diseases such as high cholesterol, and when the veins and arteries get clogged up it leads to heart problems… Then there's arthritis and other bone problems such as gout… Whenever I go for a health checkup, the nurse is always impressed that I've got very low cholesterol levels…”

“You eat healthily, don't you?”

“I try! I used to demolish whole chickens for dinner and could get through 90% of a turkey on Xmas! It's no surprise that I would fall asleep shortly after a Xmas glutton frenzy​ because my body was unable to deal with so much meat and processed foods at one time.

Look at all those cheeses! I must admit that I enjoyed cheese - especially goats cheese! But the reality is that they can clog up the arteries. And if you want calcium, you're better off looking at non-animal based sources. The cows don't feed off bones to make calcium, they eat grass!”

“You're making good points! I like how you're able to look at things from a logical perspective. What you're saying makes sense to me.”

“We're just being conditioned to accept that the consumption of meat is normal when it's totally the opposite of normal. When I flick through a fitness/bodybuilding magazine there's always the obligatory picture of steak just sitting there, and meat is a constant in the diet tips section. Not to mention these large tubs of protein powders with animal derivatives in them as the main sources of nutrition. These protein powders are nothing but a rip off! It's just animal based proteins and chemicals! People are being hoodwinked! We seldom take the time to think about these things because we are preoccupied with work, bills, entertainments, sleep, and work again. So, we see meat pictured with someone that looks fit and without thinking, most of us will pick up some meat for dinner, eating into the meat is healthy myth… It's a cannibalism by proxy as meat and dairy products eat into our bodies which stop it functioning on an optimal level.”

At that point, my friend had an influx of customers and I then waved goodbye, went home and cooked a Vegan recipe and shared it on my Vegan Recipes Blog: Bear Gene, Vegan For Life

Thank you for reading!

Love,

Bear XOXOXOXOXO​

BEAR, THE NOT SO MYSTERIOUS SHOPPER GREEN BAY

BEAR, THE NOT SO MYSTERIOUS SHOPPER

GREEN BAY LOCATION: LONDON, SOUTH KENSINGTON
GREEN BAY, LONDON'S FIRST VEGAN SUPERMARKET

I'm embarrassed to state that last week, I left my home too late in the day which left me a couple of hours to get to the Green Bay supermarket with about 30 minutes to shop before it closes. I got lost! The funny thing was that I was so close, I was about 5 minutes away and kept going the wrong way. Freaking, Google Maps! Bah!

Yesterday, I made sure that I left my home in good time to get to this much talked about Vegan supermarket! I like to travel by bus so that I can take in the sights. I also love to power-walk and I make a mental note of potential routes for future walks. So, it took me 4 buses to get there. If you're in Central London you need to take bus numbers 10 to Hammersmith and 28 to Mapleton Crescent. You get off at the Lillie Road stop and opposite you'll find Green Bay!

THE ARRIVAL

When I arrived, finally, I was a little disappointed to see how small it is. Anyway, I went inside and had a look…

The shop interior isn't too bad; it's just a tad on the claustrophobic scale, 2, 5 being the highest. I was told that the shop gets packed out and I was relieved to see that I was 1 of 2 customers in the shop. There again, I arrived with 40 minutes to shop; it closes at 20:00.

It drives me to distraction when I don't have space to shop. I hate bumping into people and vice versa. Not every Vegan is skinny! I'm not skinny and I need to get back to the gym very soon! Ha ha!

PRICEWISE

Well, given the shop location, it wasn't much of a surprise to find some goods marked with a high price tag. London, as you know, is a very expensive city and Central London is insanely costly! Property, rent, rates, etc are through the roof; these factors can and does affect the goods sold in shops (in and around Central London). Now, a Vegan supermarket, the only one of its kind, is not going to come cheap slap in the middle of Central London.

The range of chocolates was varied, however, I didn't see the brand that I used in my Sweet Choco Sensation recipe! Some of the prices were quite high - the higher the percentage of cocoa, the higher the price. I'm looking for another brand of chocolate for my next dessert recipe. I love chocolate!

Above: Vegan shampoos and other toiletries/cosmetics. It's good to know these things exist! But they are expensive!

Going back to chocolate… I was surprised to see that Green Bay didn't stock cocoa powder! In fact, Vegan cocoa powder has become scarce! These days, I'm finding products with labeling that states, “May contain milk…” This tells me that a Vegan based cocoa powder is going to cost me! It's crazy! Cocoa is a product that has no dairy in it in the first place! Surely, there has to be a way to create cocoa powder without cross contamination that's not going to cost the Earth? Grrrr!

MEAT ME IN THE MIDDLE

There were a number of meat substitutes that ranges from sausages to steaks and other forms of meat products. For some reason, these meat substitutes don't appeal to me. I've yet to use such substitutes in my recipes. I've decided to revisit tofu and to educate myself on it; I think I may have been misinformed on the subject of tofu and soya based products.

One of these days, I'll have to pick one of these meat substitutes and give it a try! I do prefer to make my own foods from scratch! I don't even use ingredients such as tomato paste. I certainly will not use ketchup! I can make my own! Some of the prices for these substitute meats were high - at least for me!

Here's an observation for you… A while back, before I became a Born Again Vegan, I used to buy baked beans with vegetable sausages that have egg whites in them! I didn't care! My thoughts were, “It ain't pork. Eggs aren't so bad…” Jeez, Louise! How could I have thought like that? The answer: Cognitive Dissonance. You know the truth but you think, “So what?” I digress…

CONCLUSION

I enjoyed Green Bay and I'll certainly be going there again. I bought a couple of items and with one of the items, I'll be making a recipe that I'll share with you soon!

The range of foods isn't that great but I'm sure that the range will keep expanding. I want to support this wonderful incentive in the hope that it'll expand to other areas. There's a lot of scope for a larger shop! Vegan might seem “niche” but when you think about it, Vegan encompasses raw fruit and vegetables, nuts and common cereals such as oats. We're there already! Green Bay is the first step.

If you like, Green Bay is everything that is Vegan in a shop like Whole Foods packed into a smaller outlet. The Whole Foods store is an okay store but I can do without smelling the cheeses, fish, and meat that's on sale. It gets on my nerves! Plus, it takes a good while to find Vegan based products. Green Bay is sandwiched between 2 Whole Foods stores on high street Kensington and the other in Fulham. And because Whole Foods is considerably bigger, the Kensington shop is on 3 floors, it's a miracle that Green Bay can exist! Thank goodness it does!

Green Bay is the future of Vegan shopping!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Bear XOXOXOXOXO