Mayo-Gate: The US government is trying to take down egg-free mayonnaise [View all]

[nationalize the fed]

Jane Mountain, Inhabitat.com 09/04/15

A group appointed by the U.S. government tried to destroy a Silicon Valley start-up after concluding that the plant-based food company was “a crisis and major threat to the future” of the $5.5-billion-a-year egg industry in the U.S. A series of emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows the American Egg Board (AEB), a US department official, and egg industry executives working together to bring down Hampton Creek who make vegan mayo, plant-based egg replacer and other egg-free products. Think things have gone too far?



The 600 pages of emails, obtained by MIT FOIA expert Ryan Shapiro, revealed the plans made between the AEB, the USDA and the egg industry to eliminate Hampton Creek, manufacturer of the egg-free Just Mayo. Outgoing head of the AEB advised Unilever on a lawsuit against Hampton Court to have “mayo” removed from their labeling. The USDA’s national supervisor of shell eggs later advised the AEB to reach out to the FDA about Just Mayo’s labeling.

The AEB also used their influence, and hired a private consultant, to persuade Whole Foods to drop Just Mayo from its shelves – Whole Foods still sells the product. To undermine Hampton Creek’s Beyond Eggs product, the AEB’s research arm the Egg Nutrition Center, hired a private consultant, Gilbert Leveille, to test the patent for the product. “Were I in your position I would focus on nutritional quality and on the emerging science, much of which ENC has sponsored,” Leveille concluded...snip
Read More: http://inhabitat.com/plant-based-mayo-strikes-fear-in-the-hearts-of-the-us-egg-lobby/

SIGN THE PETITION TO INVESTIGATE THE USDA EGG BOARD

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Government-backed egg lobby tried to crack food startup, emails show

The Guardian | Sam Thielman & Dominic Rushe | September 2, 2015

USDA official joined American Egg Board in planning to ruin Hampton Creek, Silicon Valley firm that created plant-based egg alternative and Just Mayo


The American Egg Board provided 14,000 eggs for the annual White House Easter egg roll this year. Photograph: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

A US government-appointed agricultural body tried to crush a Silicon Valley food startup after concluding the company represented a “major threat” and “crisis” for the $5.5bn-a-year egg industry, according to documents obtained by the Guardian.

In potential conflict with rules that govern how it can spend its funds, the American Egg Board (AEB) lobbied for a concerted attack on Hampton Creek, a food company that has created a low-cost plant-based egg replacement and the maker of Just Mayo, a mayonnaise alternative.

In a series of emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (Foia), AEB staff, a US department of agriculture official and egg industry executives attempted to orchestrate the attack.

The documents were obtained by Ryan Shapiro, a Foia expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Shapiro’s Washington DC-based Foia-specialist attorney, Jeffrey Light, and passed to Hampton Creek.

Among the efforts coordinated between the AEB, the USDA and the egg industry:

Outgoing AEB head Joanne Ivy advised Unilever on how to proceed against Hampton Creek after the food giant filed a false advertising lawsuit against its rival last year...snip

Read More: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/02/usda-american-egg-board-hampton-creek-just-mayo

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Just Mayo: Egg group scrambled over eggless mayo maker

By Candice Choi Associated Press 09/02/2015



NEW YORK -- A San Francisco company that makes an eggless mayonnaise alternative has the U.S. egg industry scrambling.

The American Egg Board, which is responsible for the "Incredible, Edible Egg" slogan, waged a campaign to counter the emergence of Hampton Creek's Just Mayo spread, and even tried to prevent its sale at Whole Foods grocery stores, according to documents provided to The Associated Press.

The documents offer a sometimes comic glimpse into the alarm the egg group felt about the startup and its CEO, Josh Tetrick, who has said he wants to make the food system more environmentally friendly by replacing the eggs in an array of foods with plant-based alternatives...snip
more:http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_28747183/just-mayo-egg-group-scrambled-over-eggless-mayo

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Imagine what is going on that DOESN'T leak out...

I bought some of this egg free mayo. It's great. You wouldn't know the difference from regular mayo. It's expensive though, but so are heart operations.