Jim:
Many commercially packaged storage food “package deals” load up on Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) for protein. I would eat TVP if I had to, but if you are considering buying food for storage, stick to eggs and meat. TVP comes from soybeans, and soybeans are not a good human food. To explain:
Plants can be placed on a continuum from harmless fruits, vegetables and common grains, to poisonous plants like deathcap mushrooms. With the exception of fruits (seeds pass through our digestion and we ‘deposit’ them in remote locations thus propagating the plant species) , plants don’t want to be eaten. “Who cares what they want?” you say. “It’s not like they can get up and run away.” Exactly. Plants can’t move or bite so they defend themselves with chemicals and thorns. Some chemicals they use will kill us (the wrong mushroom), some will kill us but in small doses can be medicines (foxglove). Some aren’t strong enough to kill us but can make us sick, either acutely or chronically. Soybeans fall into this latter category.
Chemicals in soybeans cause thyroid disorders, blood clots, inhibit trypsin (one of our digestive enzymes), contain very high levels of phytates (mineral inhibitors) and contain high levels of estrogens. Have you noticed girls entering puberty earlier than in previous generations? Men given soy products can become feminized. Babies receiving soy infant formula as their sole source of food take the equivalent of 5 birth control pills a day in estrogens. These chemicals in soy are anti-nutrients. The Asians knew this which is why they only eat fermented soy like miso. Tofu is not fermented. The fermentation process inactivates many (but not all) of the anti-nutritive elements in soy. The only use for soy for humans IMHO is as Miso taken after radiation exposure. After the nuclear explosions in Japan, those who were fed miso survived better than those who were not. Miso will last a long time in a refrigerator and you should have some with your potassium iodate as part of your nuclear first aid kit. – SF in Hawaii
Letter Re: TVP is a Poor Choice for Food Storage
