One of the first things I did after launching Yumbini was to share some with my alma mater, Oregon State University. The OSU Honors College wrote an article about my adventures and dubbed Yumbini “the instant ramen of the health food world”. They captured my intention exactly!
What to do?
You all know I developed new food products for over 40 years. During that time, I became more and more concerned about the poor eating habits of Americans and the shortage of products that could help the situation. Indeed, it seemed to be getting worse, with more and more confusing “healthy halo” marketing claims (see more about this and my meeting Morgan Spurlock of Supersize Me fame).
I wanted to do something to help people have easy access to healthier food. I even considered dropping food science altogether and starting a cooking school! But I couldn’t stop being a food scientist. And lots of people can teach cooking. But not many have been doing food product development for 40 years. I needed to use what I know.
The Humane Society
So, I went looking for ideas. In 2017, I attended a seminar sponsored by The Humane Society (now called Humane World for Animals). Highlighting the cruelty and climate impacts of animal agriculture, they were actively encouraging dieticians and foodservice professionals to add more vegan options to their menus. At the end of the two-day seminar, we were paired up to develop plans of what we would do as result of all we had learned.
I was paired with a very nice woman named Mary. I told her my story and asked what product she thought I should invent. She said she wished there was something she could buy that was not too expensive, and could keep in her cupboard. Whenever needed, she could pour it out and heat to make a healthy, satisfying meal. In other words, the instant ramen of the health food world!
Vegan Chicken Nuggets
Interestingly, after the seminar, I did not think of beans and rice right away. At that time, the world was still very much about making vegan versions of familiar foods. In fact, I asked one of the seminar facilitators from the Humane Society what food product the world needed. She said vegan chicken nuggets.
Now, almost 10 years later, there are plenty of vegan chicken nuggets. Clearly, these are vastly better in terms of animal and planetary welfare. But from a human health standpoint, I doubt if there is much improvement at all (they are still mostly fried breading after all)!
America is still warming up to beans
Thinking about Yumbini, I’m reminded of a quote by Henry Ford who said “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. In other words: vegan chicken nuggets! But my favorite is the second part of what Henry Ford said “I have no idea how to make those, so I didn’t ask people and just made the automobile”.
It was the same with me. I didn’t know how, or have any interest in, making vegan chicken nuggets. So instead of trying to make meat products vegan or junk food healthy, I went back to the basics. Beans and rice, the perfect vegan combination, eaten around the world, made as quick and easy as instant ramen.
I do hope you enjoy it and tell your friends.
