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One journey to soy-tisfaction
By Emile Hallez
ehallez@mscd.edu

As a vegan, I’ve learned that an animal-free lifestyle seems to be one of constant compromise. At points where one thinks they have eliminated all products of sentient-being origin from their consumption, the contrary creeps out to mock one’s effort. Well-deserved feelings of accomplishment for giving up the most obvious infractions (meat, dairy, honey, leather and wool, to name a few) may well be diminished by newfound knowledge of the animal-byproduct industry sneaking into one’s wallet, taking what it will. Swearing off beer and wine fined with isinglass (gelatin from sturgeon swim-bladder), one may take their stand on animal welfare to a new high, only to learn the tires on their car or bicycle carry the stench of carcass byproducts. And what is the conscientious vegan to do, if not to avoid all but the simplest form of transit?

I should make one thing clear: Counterintuitive though it may sound, a lifestyle of searching for alternatives is not one of sacrifice. Inasmuch, it is not ‘hard’ to be vegan. Where passion exists, vexation usually does not. I think the majority of self-ascribed veggies would agree – we do not miss the feeling of sinking our teeth into a Big Mac, because we know from where it comes and what it represents. Further, we feel pretty good about what we avoid. The pressing issue, however, is where we draw the line, in a world where animal parts find their way into seemingly innocent products – ones on which we are often quite dependent.

Soy milk, for example, represents one of the many gray areas in vegan ethics. As an excellent and humane alternative to dairy, the drink is oft a cornerstone in vegan diets. Yet surprisingly, not all widely-available soy milks are animal-free. Since most commercial soy milk is fortified, and because the majority of industrial B-vitamins are of zoological derivation, it is safe to assume that packaging not specifically labeled as ‘vegan’ contains soy milk that is not. So when one finds the beverage in question, one that is palatable, readily available, and – most importantly – vegan, one tends to embrace it with a kung fu grip. For me, it was vanilla Silk, made by Broomfield-based White Wave Foods, that was the Holy Grail of my hippie quest for soy-tisfaction. It was, that is, until I learned White Wave was purchased by Dean Foods, the largest dairy-processor in the United States. Thus began my adventure in home soy milk production.

After some online research, a soy milk maker purchased on eBay for around seventy dollars, and fifty pounds of soybeans shipped directly from a farm, I began home brewing to my heart’s content. The instructions were simple: soak a cup of beans overnight, rinse, place them in the machine, add water, and press START. Fifteen minutes later, the result was a thin, opaque mixture with a taste reminiscent of gym socks on a warm day. Adding a dose of cane sugar and vanilla transcended the beverage to sweet gym socks, with a hint of vanilla, also on a warm day.

Several months later, having studied a fair amount of suggested recipes, altering the bean-soak time, and filtering with cheesecloth, I am well on my way to producing a respectable soy milk. The investment in time and effort is a small price to pay for sticking to my principles, and sticking it to “the man.” Provided we are also mindful of human rights, many of those in favor of animal welfare might agree: any effort applied to our cause, regardless of its size, scope, or level of obscurity, is unquestionably justifiable.

Should anyone be bold enough to border the intricacies of our dedication, I suggest the line be delible. After all, convenience should never be a factor in adherence to convictions. Veganism is more than just a search for available alternatives; it is a proactive approach to resourcefulness and an unofficial war on pointless convention.