Fake Chicken and PCRM plug in Virginian-Pilot (US)

[Guest guest]

The following was in the Pilot's " Veg Edge " column

which apparently runs every Wednesday.

The Virginian-Pilot takes letters at: letters

 

The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

August 2, 2000, Wednesday,

 

IN A ''FOWL'' MOOD? DISH OUT CHICKEN ALTERNATIVES

 

BY ROBIN ROBERTSON, CORRESPONDENT

 

AS BURGER KING and Chick-Fil-A duke it out in the courtroom over the battle

gimmick between cows (''Eat mor chikin'') and chickens (''Save the Chickens,

Eat a Whopper! " ), a more telling conflict is erupting in some homes thanks

to the movie ''Chicken Run. "

 

I like to call it the ''Babe'' effect, by which many people lost their taste

for pork after seeing the movie about the charming young pig. Babe helped

people make the connection that the pork chop on their plate was once part of

a sentient being. ''Chicken Run'' has sent at least some children home

tearfully refusing to eat their wings and drumsticks.

 

If cute claymation chickens don't tug at your heartstrings, the Physician's

Committee for Responsible Medicine may help change your mind about eating

chicken. The Spring/ Summer 2000 issue of the committee's magazine reports

that chicken is not the low-fat ''health food'' that many people want you to

believe. ''A 3.5-ounce piece of broiled lean flank steak is 56 percent fat as

a percentage of calories, " the article states. ''Chicken contains nearly the

same at 51 percent. Even when the skin is removed, dark meat is thrown away

and a non-fat cooking method is used, chicken is still 23 percent fat. "

 

The article goes on: ''Four ounces of beef - just the size of a deck of cards

- and 4 ounces of chicken both contain about 100 milligrams of cholesterol,

and the cholesterol from chicken does just as good of a job at clogging

arteries and causing heart disease. "

 

The article also states that salmonella is reported to be growing inside one

in every three packages of chicken, with campylobacter infecting as many as

two-thirds of all prepackaged chicken. These factors might inspire anyone to

cry foul at the thought of eating fowl.

 

Wouldn't it be great if you could enjoy the familiar flavors of your favorite

chicken dishes without having to eat a chicken? Well, thanks to the wonders

of vegetable protein in the hands of some creative food companies, now you

can.

 

Love those Buffalo wings? Check out your supermarket freezer case for

Morningstar Farms brand meat-free Buffalo Wings. They're deliciously spicy

and crunchy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. You can dip them

in the traditional salad dressing if you like, or try them slathered with

barbecue sauce or a sweet and sour sauce. I've taste-tested these little gems

on meat-eaters and they pass with flying colors.

 

Another fabulous product is Meat of the Wheat brand ''Chicken Style'' Wheat

Meat. Available in natural food stores, this wheat meat, also known by its

Japanese name, seitan, can be used to make an amazing number of entrees. The

frozen chunks and pieces are perfect for stir-fries, pot-pies, ''chicken''

salads, and just about any other way chicken is prepared. Wheat meat is also

great simmered in barbecue sauce or served with bread stuffing and topped

with a mushroom gravy.

 

Other tempting poultry-free chicken-like recipes can be made using tempeh

(compressed soy beans formed into cakes) and firm tofu. The secret to

great-tasting tempeh is to poach it in water before using it in recipes. I

especially like it chopped and made into a ''no-chicken'' salad. Firm tofu

can be sliced thin and sauteed picatta-style with white wine and lemon juice,

or cooked with teriyaki or other flavorful sauces.

 

For great poultry-free recipes that convert a variety of your favorite

poultry dishes into tasty vegan alternatives, look for the cookbook ''Instead

of Chicken, Instead of Turkey: A Poultryless Poultry Potpourri'' by Karen

Davis, who heads United Poultry Concerns, an organization dedicated to

raising public awareness of the treatment of domestic fowl. Its Web site is:

www.upc-online.org

 

For information about Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine call

(202) 686-2210 or visit its Web site at www.pcrm.org, where you can read the

article about chicken and health in its entirety.

 

If you're looking for ways not to ''fowl up'' your kitchen with chicken,

try these recipes using tempeh and tofu.