Gardenburger is a brand of meatless veggie burgers much like Boca and Morningstar. With a name like Gardenburger you would assume all their veggie burgers must be vegan, but you would be wrong. Only two of the five veggie burgers made by Gardenburger are vegan. Vegans do not eat any dairy — unlike some vegetarians — and three of Gardenburger’s veggie burgers contain dairy ingredients making them non-vegan.
Gardenburger’s Vegan Burgers
Gardenburger makes two vegan burgers at the moment: the Veggie Medley and the Black Bean Chipotle Veggie Burger. The Veggie Medley consists of brown rice, broccoli, carrots, rolled oats, onions, and other vegetables, as well as soy and spices. The Black Bean Chipotle Veggie Burger contains most of the same ingredients as the Veggie Medley, but also contains black beans, as the name implies.
Kosher Dairy
You might notice the phrase “kosher dairy” labeled under the “kosher status” section on the packaging of the Veggie Medley and Black Bean Chipotle Veggie Burger. That might confuse you into thinking they contain dairy ingredients, but they don’t.
Natural Flavors
“Natural flavors” are an ingredient in the Veggie Medley and Black Bean Chipotle Veggie Burger that might alarm you. By definition, “natural flavors” or “natural flavoring,” can be just about anything, and can be derived from plants or animals. However, in this case, Gardenburger would not be able to label these burgers as vegan if the “natural flavors” were animal derived.
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