>soy lecithin-free chocolates?

While sitting around eating bonbons and admiring HD TV's trees, rocks, ice, dirt and flowers, I noticed that all but 2 of my chocolate bars had soy lecithin listed as their ingredient. The good(?) guys - Taza's "Stone Ground Organic 70% dark" and Theo's "Madagascar 65% cacao".

Soy or soya lecithin is not an additive I readily understand to be natural. What with all the GM (genetically modified) food controversy, soybean's image has gone from healthy to possibly harmful. It does make you pause when you think of lecithin as the emulsifier for paint and soap, and sure, margarine. Not quite enough to scare me, though.

This "mouthwatering" passage is taken from sanwariaagro.com :

"We are manufacturing soya lecithin, it is used as emulsifier, also to increase life of products, to reduce fat content and also for easy spreadability of the product. Lecithin is a mixture of polar and neutral lipids and phosphalipids. Polar lipid consist of glycolipids, neutral lipids are triglycerides, phosphalipids contain phosphates. This is in liquid form. Thus lecithin contains Acetone Insoluble Phosphatides, its ingredients are phosphatidcholine, phosphatidyleth, V linositol, phosphatidylserine, other substances are triglycerides, fatty acid, carbohydrates, this is extracted from fresh soya gum directly through fully automatic plant. Uses: Soya lecithin is used as food emulsifier in confectionery (Biscuits, Bread, Chocolate, Candies) Aquafeed, Poultry feed, Paints, Inks, Explosive, Animal feed etc."

(?)

I am still disinclined to get involved in agenda-ridden "organic lecithin" or "organic chocolate" movement, but I have to admit, I can't help liking the natural sound of cacao beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole vanilla beans. Period.