Quorn has been available in the US where I live for about a year, although
it has been used in Europe for quit a while. It is gererally regarded as
safe by Europe, is made from a non-genetically modified Fusarium venenatum ,
a fungus. CSPI objects to Marlow foods describing Quorn mycroprotein as
"mushrooms", but I believe not too much should be read into the claims by
Marlow. To a scientificly illiterate population, caling quorn a mushroom is
not far from the truth. Both mushrooms and F. venenatum are part of the
kingdom eumycota- fungi, so to the layman, they are basicly the same thing.

In addition, CSPI has goaded the press into describing Quorn in the most
disgusting, bizarre manner possible, despite the fact that fungi have been
part of the human diet for centuries. There is quite a bit of Aspergillus
cerevisae in beer and breads, quite a bit of Aspergillus oryzae in miso,
mold in bleu cheeses, and people have been eating mushrooms and truffles for
quite a long time. Fungi have been used to produce medicines, to produce
food flavorings (for instance, monosodium glutimate), or vitamins and
minerals (for instance, B-12 and chromium tablets). F. venenatum is raised
in large sterile vats, fed on glucose. When the process is finished, the
fungal protein is texturized and mixed with binders and flavorings. I
imagine if you showed the average meat eater the insides of a slaughter
house, he wouldn't think his steak looked too pleasant anymore, either.

Yes, some people are allergic to Quorn. But what is new about that? Many
people are allergic to peanuts, soybeans, chocolate, mushrooms, wheat,
shellfish... the list could go on and on. We don't deprive people of
peanuts or soybeans simply because a few people are allergic to them, or
could even die from them (so far, to my knowledge, nobody has died from
eating Quorn). Then CSPI makes issue of mycotoxins in Quorn. Well, Marlow
foods has quality controls in place to monitor for presence of mycotoxins,
and they brew the F. venenatum in a way to minimize the risk. And Quorn
isn't the only source of potential mycotoxins. Peanuts can produce
aflatoxin (a mycotoxin), which can kill animals and causes cancer in animal
experimental models (although evidence of cancer risk from humans eating
peanuts is scant). Yet peanuts remain in our food supply, and for the vast
majority of people, it will never be a problem for them. Or how about E.
coli? It is omnipresent in meat (and also found in some fruits and
berries), especially hamburger, and only proper cooking/handling destroys
it. It is potentially a bigger health problem.

I myself occasionally like eating Quorn. It is not a staple of my diet,
or something I eat routinely (I much preffer broccoli, bean sprouts, soy,
and peanuts as a protein source). I have never had a reaction from eating
it. It has a faint "mushroom" taste, but other than that, it doesn't have
alot of flavor on its own. It's not really vegan, but Marlow foods is
working on a replacement for the egg albumin to make it acceptable to
vegans. Rather than castigating Marlow foods, they should be praised for
creating a more environmentally friendly protein source. Quorn is not aimed
primarily at hardcore vegetarians, but the legions of people who want
something that resembles meat and that they know how to cook with- people
for whom tofu is just too wierd, or perhaps people who aren't ready to dive
headlong into those brussel sprouts and broccolli.