Did you know that L-cysteine is often derived from human hair?

Yes, HUMAN hair!

L-cysteine is a non-essential amino acid, which means that humans can synthesize it. However, it is often used as a dough conditioner for bread and bagels, and for flavouring meat and other products.

So there could be hair in your soup - and your supplements. As two large supplement manufacturers confirmed to me recently:

"Unfortunately, our L-Cysteine powder is not suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It is derived from human hair."

Urgh - wait. What? Why? Not only is this weird, and according to some, constitutes cannibalism, but it's just wrong. Or is it? What do you think?

Apparently, human hair is cheap in China, where most of L-cysteine is produced. It's sweeped off the many barber shop and hair salon floors and shipped to factories to be converted into the white crystalline powder that is L-cysteine.

There are a couple of companies producing L-cysteine by fermentation, from non-animal and non-human sources. They are Ajinomoto and Wacker Chemie. Both have failed to respond to my numerous emails - very disappointing for companies trying to do something new and different, and advertising themselves as such.

Oh well. Just look out for human-hair, feather or pig bristle-derived L-cysteine in your bagel, soup and shampoo.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cysteine

http://www.vegpeople.com/cgi-bin/gossamer/gforum.cgi?post=225214

I discovered this on a trip to Madrid. The jar did not look very exciting, but I was bored and hungry. I did not open it until I came back home to the UK.

BIG MISTAKE!

This tastes like heaven. Almond heaven. It's got a soft, milky toffee flavour, smooth and thick texture and is absolutely scrumptious! Almendrina is a thick paste made from almonds and sugar. Sounds simple. But tastes...like nothing I have tasted before.

And it's not available in the UK, as confirmed by the manufacturer. I have heard rumours that jars of Almendrina have been spotted at Wholefoods market, but I need to look into that.

If you travel to Spain, get a jar or two, or even the big 1kg tin. It's just a couple of euros, and totally worth it.

The Almendrina website states:

"The most common use of ALMENDRINA is in the preparation of almond milk.  To prepare, you only have to mix one or two soupspoons of ALMENDRINA with ten tablespoons of hot or cold water.  If you use cold water, you’ll get a very pleasant refreshing drink that is also nutritious.  You can also add coffee, tea, malt,instant coffees or coffee substitutes.

Because of its creamy texture, it can also be used straight from the jar like a jam, or in baking recipes:  for cakes, ice creams, puddings, custards, and so on."

Ah - they are so right. Straight from the jar. A teaspoon when you're feeling down. Heaven.

The Almendrina website is below:

http://www.almendrina.com/

OK - listen to this:

"GM corn and cotton are engineered to produce their own built-in pesticide in every cell. When bugs bite the plant, the poison splits open their stomach and kills them."

Biotech companies use a pesticide called Bt, produced from soil bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis. Bt genes are inserted into corn and cotton, so the plants do the killing.

No wonder that the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) is calling for a moratorium on GM food and urging the public to avoid GM foods when possible.

More information about the AAEM's position on genetically modified foods:

http://www.aaemonline.org/gmopost.html

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine was founded in 1965, and is an international association of physicians and other professionals interested in the clinical aspects of man and his environment.