Mayo day in court

To be, or not to be egged on, that is the question now before a New Jersey judge;

"This is mayo and not mayonnaise."

Those are the fighting words of Josh Tetrick, founder of a company that produces a sauce that doesn't contain eggs. Naturally, someone files a lawsuit.

Unilever subsidiary Conopco is demanding that Hampton Creek change the label of its Just Mayo, which features [on its label] a plant growing inside an egg--a nod to the fact food scientists employed by Hampton Creek have discovered plant proteins that substitute for egg in many products. Hampton Creek touts this substitution as a massive benefit--and the existence for the company.

"We are trying to make the right thing for the environment--and the body," says Tetrick. "We believe that the thing that's affordable should be more healthful and taste better."

And, we hope, decided by the people who choose to eat it. Or not.

The Wall Street Journal called the lawsuit" the latest battle between established food companies and the emerging natural- and organic-food producers that are luring skeptical consumers away from traditional packaged foods."

Unfair to chickens!