Did you know that Jiffy “America’s Favorite” has been using animal fat as shortening since 1950 in all of their mixes?  Just recently they released one vegetarian version.  My family enjoys Jiffy, we make cornbread at least once a month as a side dish.  I never thought to look at the label, I reasoned “it’s just cornbread, of course it’s vegetarian”.  So, I continued using it until I noticed “animal fat” as one of the main ingredients.

Animal fats are obtained in the course of dressing the carcasses of slaughtered animals (slaughter fats) or at a later stage in the butchering process when meat is being prepared for final consumption (butcher fats).  Processed animal fats include lard by melting raw pig fat obtained from the abdomen of a swine, and tallow is obtained from raw fat of other animal species.  This product, is in your family cornbread.  I was shocked.  Why can’t all their products just use plant-based oil?

Does Jiffy need animal fat in their mixes?  The answer is no.  Saturated and trans fats are bad for human health and can lead to high cholesterol and fatal heart attacks.  The traditional mix “America’s Favorite” uses pig fat, whereas the vegetarian version uses vegetable oils.  There is really no difference in flavor or texture to switch.  I urge Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix to use only vegetable oils in all their products! 

Please support this cause to end the use of cruelly attained fats.