Nitrates
Industrial processing chemicals applied deliberately during spray-drying of soy protein powder, not trace contaminants. Nitrates have been documented as carcinogenic for decades; their continued FDA approval in food reflects regulatory protection of industry over consumers.
Nitrates and nitrites appear in Aajonus Vonderplanitz's framework primarily as industrial processing chemicals introduced into food through specific manufacturing procedures, most prominently the spray-drying of soy protein powder. His treatment of the subject is not exhaustive across the source material, but what he recorded is direct and unambiguous in its condemnation. He drew on the position of Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, MD, to anchor the cancer connection, and he situated nitrates within a broader pattern of toxic industrial additives permitted by the FDA despite known harm.
The specific context in which Aajonus raised nitrates most clearly was the processing of soy for use as poultry feed and as a human food product. Soy, he explained, contains natural substances that cause sickness or death when eaten by poultry and humans without treatment. To neutralize these substances, the beans must be bathed in acidic baths and subjected to extreme temperatures. Following that thermal and chemical treatment, the manufacturers spray-dry the resulting material with nitrates to produce protein powder. To that nitrate-laden powder, the industry then adds artificial chemical flavorings, MSG, preservatives, sweeteners, and other synthetic ingredients, all designed to override the natural repulsion that both poultry and humans would otherwise feel toward a substance Aajonus described as toxic matter.
Nitrates In Soy Processing
The mechanical reason nitrates enter soy protein powder is their role in the spray-drying step of production. Once the beans have been acid-bathed and heat-processed, the resulting substance must be converted into a shelf-stable powder. Spray-drying is the industrial method used, and nitrates are applied in that process. Aajonus did not describe this as an incidental trace contamination but as a deliberate application intrinsic to how soy protein powder is manufactured. The nitrates are not a byproduct of the process but an agent used to accomplish it.
The Cancer Connection Aajonus Cited
Aajonus cited Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, MD, directly on the carcinogenicity of nitrates, stating that "nitrates have been known for decades to cause cancer, yet the FDA allows them in many foods." He repeated this point across more than one source document, making clear that this was not a peripheral or speculative concern but a well-documented toxicological reality that regulatory bodies had chosen to permit rather than restrict. The FDA's allowance of nitrates in many foods, despite this known cancer risk, was presented by Aajonus as an example of the pattern in which industrial and regulatory bodies protect the food industry rather than the consumer.
Broader Toxic Context of Soy
Aajonus situated the nitrate problem within the larger toxicity profile of processed soy. He identified multiple harmful compounds in soy itself, including phytoestrogens, IGg, and trypsin inhibitor, all of which he noted had caused cancers and inhibited growth in hundreds of animals in documented testing. The soy protein powder produced through the acid-bath, high-temperature, nitrate-spray-drying process was then further adulterated with MSG, artificial flavorings, preservatives, and sweeteners. The complete picture Aajonus presented was of a product that begins as a toxic raw material, is subjected to a series of harsh industrial processes including nitrate application, and then has its unpalatability masked through chemical flavor manipulation. He described the entire purpose of those added chemicals as tricking the palates of both poultry and humans into consuming what they would otherwise reject.
Nitrogen in Other Contexts
It is worth noting that Aajonus did discuss nitrogen more broadly in contexts that were not negative. He mentioned that naturally carbonated mineral waters, when the carbon dioxide enters the intestines and then the blood, turn into nitrogen and then into oxygen. He also described urine as high in nitrogen and beneficial as a fertilizer in its natural state, though he was critical of industrial processing of urine-derived nitrogen for agricultural use because that processing destroys the bacteria and enzymes. Honey was mentioned as containing a lot of nitrogen, sufficient to trigger TSA explosive-detection equipment that reads for nitroglycerin-related compounds. These nitrogen references are distinct from the industrial nitrates and nitrites applied as processing chemicals and should not be conflated with them.