Why Care About Carrageenan?
Ever see that big C-word when scanning through a label at the grocery store? For us vegans, this C-word pops up a lot, and I’ve been wondering exactly what Carrageenan is lately.
Click photo to be whisked away to a seaweed site that has some info about carrageenan
Basically, it’s seaweed.
Sounds harmless right? Not necessarily, but first a history lesson. This big C-word has been used for centuries, and recipes to make its gelatinous food additive form can be found in Diderot’s Encyclopedie dating all the way back to 18th century France. The earliest reported uses of the stuff as a food additive date back to 600 B.C. in China, but it didn’t become a commonly used additive until the 1930′s. Today, most of the world’s carrageenan (about 80%) is harvested in the Philippines.
Today it’s used as an alternative to gelatin which we all know is both cruel and well, gross, as it comes from the hooves, tendons, ligaments, and bones of animals. You can find the stuff as a thickener in everything from your favorite brand of vegan milk (I make my own-recipe here!) to that coconut ice cream I love so much. (Found a new brand that’s additive free! Expect a post on the stuff soon!) It’s used as a thickening agent and also a stabilizer, keeping that almondy goodness in place when you buy your beloved carton at the co-op.
So far so good, huh? Well…
Carrageenan has been cited as a key source of inflammation and high levels of it are even associated with certain types of cancers. (Check out this article on the results of carrageenan in animal testing)
So is the big C-word safe?
Like many other food additives, carrageenan has been deemed safe for consumption in small quantities. As it’s in many process foods (even the good organic ones!) just limiting your intake of these foods will limit your intake of additives like carrageenan.
Click the image to be taken to another blog post on this topic with an extensive list of carrageenan laden items. Buyers beware!
As vegans we’re already very limited in the number of products we can purchase and eat, and even more limited if we’re interested in issues like food politics and food justice. (Hellloooo… cough cough… Just give “food politics” a search in my search engine to the right and see what you come up with… ) So keeping your eyes peeled for carrageenan at the store can limit your options even more. So what’s a mindful vegan to do? I say keep reading those labels, just like you always do! Just be conscious of the other things that are in that vegan product that might be lurking around the proverbial corner.
Does this mean you should forgo your favorite vegan ice cream the next time it’s on sale? No, just maybe budget your processed foods intake for that day, and keep the carrageenan low, just to be on the safe side.
But here’s my tofu (saying beef is just a little weird, don’t you think?) with carrageenan:
As someone who is concerned with not only the exploitation of animals but also the exploitation of human beings as workers in the food industry I am worried about the practices surrounding the farming, processing, and production of this food product. Even though the Philippines was once a U.S. territory, it doesn’t mean that the working conditions, laws, and expectations are the same there. (Even in the U.S. they are bad for many workers, especially those in the food industry!) I just can’t say with confidence that I am comfortable supporting an industry that is so veiled in scrutiny and secrecy. (Not only do many people not know about carrageenan, but it’s industrial production methods are even more ambiguous.) Personally, I am going to continue my research (if you’re doing the same, here‘s a great place to start) and be more mindful of the additives that are in the products that I buy. (Like I said, new ice cream brand! And I already make my own almond milk and most baked goods) This is just a good reminder to spring for homemade versus that store bought goodie, no matter how lovely the carrageenan laced morsel might be.
Bisous!
Rachel
I knew that it was sourced from seaweed or something, but I didn’t know the bad stuff. I wonder if the carcinogens and other issues with it comes from all the pollution we dump into the ocean? Crazy.
Ooh! Thanks for brining up that point! That was an issue I really wanted to raise in the post, but I was too distracted by everything else to bring it up! Making an addendum now…
Read your new post. Glad I could spur the argument. Hopefully we can help make at least a small impact.
Whoa. Thanks for the heads up, Rachel! I’ve seen that as an ingredient, but honestly, didn’t give it much thought beyond it being a gelling agent. Another great reason to steer clear of processed foods and to stay mainly in the produce section.
That’s for sure!
wow, this is really eye opening — as someone with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, this is definitely an ingredient I need to avoid like the plague!!
Oh yes, you must be very careful! It is cleverly disguised as being both organic and vegan friendly. It’s pretty disappointing to see some of the products that actually use it!
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I discovered that I have a sensitivity to it. I cannot consume it in a liquid form or I get severe intestinal pain and cramping. I can use it in very small amounts in solids but I try to avoid it when possible. I’m convinced that this is the reason some people think they are allergic to nut milks (it’s in almost all of them. I too make my own almond milk) and why people who consume animal products think they are lactose intolerant (it’s in many dairy foods). I figured it out 9 years ago when I went veg. I could never drink those Slim Fast in a can drinks, gave me cramping and pain and then when soy milk did that, I did some investigation and found out the big C was the cause!
I’ve been warning people ever since and some friends have discovered a sensitivity to it as well. I did a post on my blog as well. The stuff isn’t good for you!
Thank you for sharing Shelly! I am glad to hear that you also make your own nut milks. It’s very scary that carrageenan is in so many of the products we know and trust!
I just recently stopped drinking the organic soy milk that I thought was healthy but once I found out about carageenan I stopped that. Now I make Almond milk like you do
Do you know if carageenan is in tofu also, because I eat tofu everyday. Please say no please say no, because I love that stuff. I have IBD also. In this day and age it is very challenging to eat healthy.
Just as a heads up, the Philippines is not a U.S. territory- it’s a sovereign nation. It was an American territory, but it gained its independence after World War II.
gosh.. theres just so much stuff i need to know about!
Great post. I had no idea, and since I love to eat seaweed, I thought this was actually good for me! Thank you.
My…er…tofu with carrageenan is that it’s often used to mask the addition of glutamate to foods in the same fashion as hydrolyzed proteins and spices.
eww… it’s food not a science project! Sigh… sometimes I’m afraid to even go to the grocery store… Also love that you said “tofu” instead of “beef.” Thank you for that! It made me giggle!
Not a vegan, but switched from milk to Silk 10 months ago. Drank a lot of Silk with carrageenan for 9 months. At first my musical notes were just a little bit more odorous, and didn’t think anything of it. Then came a 5 month non-stop diarrhea and some abdominal pain. Did a lot of food eliminations. Finally came to the party – going off Silk stopped my very sever symptoms within a couple of days. The colonoscopy I had around that time showed “microscopic colitis”, meaning inflamation in the colon needing a biopsy and microscope to see the abnormality. I am hoping that it will/has improved again now that I am carefully avoiding carrageenan. Hard to know how many people are affected by this and never know. I think I am lucky to have had such severe symptoms that I was prompted to try to find a fix. The gastroenterologist just wanted to give me a steroid for the inflamation. Not a good road imo. One more reason to watch what we eat.
A great alternative is to make your own nut milk! It’s pretty scary how many vegan milk products have this stuff in them! I hope that you’re on the road to recovery, and thank you for sharing your experiences here on Veganland!
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Hi Rachel, I am a long-time vegan who suffers regularly from “bad tummy” which I thought was just part of being a plant-eater. I feel chronically inflamed and bloated, and retain water like crazy. I thought I had a gluten sensitivity and cut out gluten … with no positive results. Lately I have been reading articles about the dangers of carrageenan. I read the labels of my favorite vegan foods (coconut milk creamer, coconut milk beverage, non-dairy ice cream, yogurt and sour cream) and lo and behold, ALL contain carrageenan! I have decided to replace all these with products that don’t contain carrageenan, and see how I feel. I’ll keep you posted.
Here is a useful from the Cornucopia Institute for those wanting to eliminate carrageenan from their diets: http://www.cornucopia.org/shopping-guide-to-avoiding-organic-foods-with-carrageenan/
Found this post when doing a search for carrageenan. Very interesting, I had no idea! I don’t drink a lot of plant milk-based products, maybe a cup per week, so I’m not too concerned but so appreciate the info. So much research involved in this vegan lifestyle, appreciate you doing some of the work for us.