[Brother Jonathan]

I don’t know of any similar Canadian-made products. Perhaps the <a href="http://www.soyfoods.org/">Soyfoods Association of North America</a> might be able to point you in the right direction?<br /> <br /> A list of many discontinued products under the several Kellogg brands can be viewed <a href="http://www.worthingtonfoods.com/cgi-bin/brandpages/faq/faq.pl?skin=worthington;id=128">here</a>, although neither Nuteena nor Nutmete is on that list. One way to see what’s available at a given time would be to look at the inventory of online retailers of such products, e.g. <a href="http://www.andysmarket.com/">Andy’s Market</a>.<br /> <br /> Perhaps the excuse given was the truth — for both products? (I’d never tried either of them, though in decades past I’d had my share of FriChik, Vege-Burger, Stripples, &c.) Maybe demand was low because most people who are raised as omnivores aren’t sufficiently motivated to check out meat alternatives?<br /> <br /> I doubt if that Starlink soyflour (or whatever its name was) had anything to do with deciding to end the manufacture of these products — Kellogg’s afterwards made a point of going with non-GM soy in these brands, but remained content to not insist upon other non-GM ingredients, e.g. maize.<br /> <br /> Kellogg’s acquired considerable soy R&D capability with its purchase of Worthington Foods; I don’t know what any other small manufacturer (e.g. Cedar Lake Foods) would offer them at this point.

[Marcarc]

I guess it depends on where you are, here in southern ontario there are actually quite a few vegetarian choices. Gardenburger comes from California, while Yves is packaged in British Columbia and has a HUGE line of veggie products. Even here in Waterloo the local animal killer, er, meat processor, Schneiders has a line of veggie products. Even President's Choice has a couple of different veggie burgers which are very good. I'd never even heard of the Kellogg's ones mentioned, and I've been vegetarian for three years and live in southern ontario. There is another company that makes "Soy Good" which are a line of ready made veggie meals, and there are quite a few veggie frozen dinners, most from California. I suspect demand fluctuates based on location, here in SO the brands and selection is increasing almost by the month.

[Rural]

Its not surprising that you have not heard of these products as they were not on heath food store shelves (or any other retail shelves) for the past 15 – 20 years due, I am told, to the labels not complying with Canadian standards (French?) The British equivalent (still being made in NZ) was called Nutolene, it is a canned peanut based luncheon meat type product that can be sliced as is for sandwiches & salads, cubed for casseroles etc or deep fried as a special treat and has always been my favorite. I also use a similar product called Protose (Worthington) ,I will find out if IT is still available soon. These products (and many others) are available through the 7th Day Adventist who have special permits to import otherwise blocked product because of their religious standing.<br /> I have tried some of the various vegetarian burger offerings (most of which I consider over priced) and have yet to find one that I really like, we make our own burgers for over the camp fire from a family recipe developed over the last 20 years, constantly under improvement it is now considered by all as PDG.<br /> As a lifetime vegetarian I do not favor the pretend meat products (steak, hotdogs etc) this is probably more a mental block than a taste preference. So far as commercial meat substitute goes the above two products are my staples, each can making about 10 – 12 servings in one form or another. I have not tried any Cedar Lake products but will be doing so soon, have either of you seen these on local store shelves in Canada, are they a U.S. company? I could find no information on them.<br /> P.S. Thanks for the links B.J. I will have a look and see if I can learn anything.<br />

[Marcarc]

I've never heard of cedar lake, I but I've also never really come across any nut based vegetarian entres. I suppose it comes from the fact that soy is bigger in canada than nuts. I wouldn't even know how to shop at the Adventists, do they have a store or something? <br /> <br /> The very few times I've eaten meat I've found it exceptionally bland, which is why so many places specialize in the flavourings, so I really don't miss it. There are breaded cutlets, but I can't remember the company, they are out of california. I also think they are overpriced considering they are mostly soy, however, in comparison to the meat that they replace, the price is pretty similar. I still haven't found a hot dog that comes close, but ground beef, salisbury steak, cold cuts, and burgers all are comparible in vegetarian entres as far as I'm concerned. <br /> <br /> I'm sure there are thousands of products made in the states that we don't get here, grocery stores are pretty much an oligopoly in Canada, I've heard estimates that we pay up to 40% over the actual price, and given that Westons is now the richest family in Canada I suspect that's the case. I'd be interested to know whether veggie foods can be ordered online and what the duty is on them. I've noticed that buying stuff online often has high duty attached, even though the government literally does nothing to deserve it.

[Rural]

Contact:- Adventist Book Centre<br /> Box 398, Oshawa, Ont. L1H 7L5<br /> Tel 1 800 765 6955<br /> They also have other stores across the country, ask for their list of food products it is very extensive and also includes Vegan items.<br /> <br />

[Dr Caleb]

The "Kirkland Signature" gardenburgers I get at Costco are *the best* I've ever tried.<br />

[Brother Jonathan]

Rural, I haven’t looked for Cedar Lake products on Canadian shelves, so I don’t know whether they took the Worthington Foods approach to Canadian labeling requirements or not. <a href="http://www.cedarlakefoods.com/">Cedar Lake Foods</a> is an American company, based in Cedar Lake, Michigan; like Worthington Foods, Loma Linda Foods, and even Kellogg’s itself, its founders were practising Adventists at some point.<br /> <br /> Marcarc, products by Gardenburger, Yves Veggie Cuisine, &c. are generally available because they’re typically owned and/or distributed by megacorporations — see the <a href="http://www.corporganics.org/">Corporate Organics</a> Web site for further details. (By the way, did you know that a couple of weeks ago, Gardenburger Inc. went into “Chapter 11” bankruptcy protection/corporate reörganisation?) Soy is bigger than nuts in the States as well; the reason why the several Kellogg brands have/had nut-based products is because nuts were the initial direction of the companies’ ingredient research. Some nut-based products have probably been sold since the 1920s.<br /> <br /> I agree that at least for veggie frankfurters/wieners, the flavouring often plays at least as important a rôle as texture in forming an acceptable substitute. The only time I have them in either animal or vegetable form is when I’m in the mood for some good sauerkraut, so I’ve never sought after the “ultimate hot dog” from either kingdom.<br /> <br /> Markets on both sides of the border get our custom, and we’ve found that there are some products that are almost always cheaper on one side than on the other; other products are roughly the same price, and thus the CAD/USD exchange rate would influence where we buy.<br /> <br /> I wonder if the NAFTA allows duty-free importation of American-made foods (excepting the exempted “supply management” commodities)?<br />

[Rural]

Thanks again for the links, I did google it but for some reason it didnt come up. I can confirm that several LL / Worthington products not on that list have been discontinued including all of those that I have been using for years! Have just ordered some Cedar Lakes product and will let you know what I think if you like. Have written them to ask if it is avalable in any Canadian stores and if not, why not, will post their response if and when I get it. Meanwhile I think some product development is going to take place in my kitchen.

[Rural]

Thank you for your inquiry regarding Cedar Lake Nuti-Loaf. We can only sell our products through the 7th Day <br /> Adventist stores in Canada because our Cedar Lake labels are not bilingual. The reason we can sell through<br /> the 7th Day Adventist stores is that it is a religious diet choice to eat the vegetarian products. We did try to<br /> come up with canned products for the Canadian market, but the Canadian government had so many requirements<br /> and changes that they wanted us to make to name/ingredients/etc. that we gave up on that idea. The Adventist<br /> Book Center in Oshawa and the Crawford Academy Store in Willowdale both handle our entire Cedar Lake canned<br /> food lines.<br /> <br /> If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.<br /> <br /> Sincerely,<br /> Cheri Graves<br /> Business Manager<br /> Cedar Lake-MGM Foods<br /> Cedar Lake, MI 48812<br /> 989-427-5143<br /> fax: 989-427-5392<br /> <br />