Margarine?

[hermy]

Hi!

I've been vegan for two months and I've been using margarine instead of butter. I really like it. The only problem is that all margarines are made with palm oil (as are many vegan products) in my country. I do care about the environment and I wanted to know if there was a way to avoid palm oil, but still have my toast and jam? Do you know another alternative? Maybe a home made recipe?

Thanks;)

[Firestorm]

There is a recipe here (http://www.veganbaking.net/fats/vegan-butters/735-vegan-butter), I haven't tried it but it looks good.

[Jara]

I really think this is a very worrying issue. I found that just Biona margarine use palm oil from a real sustainable source. You can find the information here:
http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/food/margarineandspreads.aspx

Not only 2ooo orang-utans die every year, but the life of thousands of people are in danger. And it is not just in Asia, but in South America as well:

"This is not a situation confined to South East Asia: in Colombia community leaders have been murdered by paramilitaries linked to palm oil production.3 Food security in many areas is said to be increasingly threatened by the conversion of land used for local food production to palm oil plantations for export."

We have to realise that products which contain palm oil ARE NOT VEGAN, as they finish with the life of all the beings releated with the areas where this product is taken from. All the products that in the label says "vegetable oil" they contain palm oil so, it is compulsory for a vegan not tu use them.

Here there is another site which is a guide of differents margarines:

http://dublinwithfoodallergies.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/dairy-free-buttermargarine-which-to.html

We can see that, as the other site states, is just Biona the one which palm oil is from sustainable sources. However, in my opinion it could be also a debate about what is really sustainable.

[Little Plum]

There is a recipe here (http://www.veganbaking.net/fats/vegan-butters/735-vegan-butter), I haven't tried it but it looks good.

I make this butter and it is so good! It melts on toast and tastes wonderful. I prefer this over my memory of real butter. The first batch I made with raw coconut oil, by mistake, so it tasted coconutty and not being keen on the taste of coconut, it wasn't my favourite (my husband loves this version though). Then I ordered refined coconut online and made another batch which was so dreamy I've been making it ever since. Even the kids love it. It's easy and quick to make; you can be munching on a piece of hot buttery toast within the hour. I'm making some today - will take a photo and put it up here later.

[Little Plum]

I recently discovered a new spread from Clover - http://www.cloverfamily.co.uk/products/clover-seedburst.aspx It's vegan, super tasty and does the right things when spread on toast / in potatoes.

I ate all the butter I'd made (previous post) before photographing it (!) but will be making more again soon and I'll try to remember to take a snap. Still my favourite.

[Firestorm]

I contacted the company about this product and they said its not vegan - I think they said because of cross contamination so it probably is but they won't admit it

[Little Plum]

I contacted the company about this product and they said its not vegan - I think they said because of cross contamination so it probably is but they won't admit it

Ah thanks. I think I'm okay with that. :)

[Risker]

Got this from clover;


Clover Seedburst is not suitable for vegans as it is not made in a dedicated factoy/line so we cannot guarantee that no cross contamination of dairy product occurs.

[Firestorm]

Thats what they said to me, doesn't mean its not vegan but I would rather give my money to Vitalite/Pure/Biona/Suma/Tesco/M&S who will state their products are vegan.