Starbucks to stop using crushed beetles as food dye

[Galapoheros]

Yeah the beetle thing, it's weird, they are more like giant white crusted aphids, true bugs. I get it grayzone, it's an almost daily Rockstar for me, orig.

[gromgrom]

The people that caused this change need a new hobby or need to get a life. Who cares.

[Obelisk]

I didn't know they used beetles for that... pretty cool I think. It's absurd for them to stop using them. We should be going in the direction of using more insects for preparing food, not the other way around!

[bugmankeith]

For the record it is not a beetle, it is a scale insect.

I knew that, im just going by what they said. Most people dont know where natural food coloring came from. Thats why some people have allergies to food dye its the insect somehow makes asthma attacks in allergic people probably from the insects exoskeleton.

[Thistles]

@Thistles: No, I get that. If that were solely the case then why not protest animal products, in general, that Starbucks uses? As someone that does actually care where his food comes from I feel that this is a misguided effort in comparison with the much more deleterious food processing/sourcing that is well entrenched. My post probably makes it seem as if I have a grudge against vegans, which isn't the case. It is the sector of that particular populace that uses hard line "evangelism"(for lack of a better term) to get their viewpoint across.

Many of them do protest all animal products. This is just a great example of one that is even more unnecessary than all the others. If people want eggs, they want eggs and not egg substitutes. If they want whole milk, they don't want soy milk. Bacon for bacon etc. If they want a strawberry drink, they don't necessarily want strawberry with bugjuice! This is just something that has alternatives, and it is also sneaky! If you're eating an egg, you know it. If you're drinking a coffee, you may not realize you're also drinking bugs!

[Yoxigan]

I heard about this. It is called cochnieal. They use it as dye in energy drinks too.

[Robotponys]

Easy solution: instead of drinking their chemical stuff, go make your own coffee, or get it from a good place. Also, look up food ingredients before you drink it if you're vegan. The ingredient list probably wouldn't even fit on the cup (except the super huge one) if they included EVERY little thing.

[Introvertebrate]

So what color would their coffee be if they didn't color it? Green?

[zonbonzovi]

OK, I'm the louse that referred to them as beetles even though I know better. My apologies. Now, I find it rather hilarious that we continue to talk about not knowing that bugs are in our food. As has been posted here many times, go look up the allowances put forth by the FDA for insects/insect parts, etc. in food. Not only that, try eating fruit off the vine/tree/etc. w/o getting a "bonus". I find some of the sanitized concern almost as senseless as Jainist vegetarianism or bumper stickers on SUVs that say, "Live Simply So Others May Simply Live". Furthermore, I know folks that work in Harbucks' product development and can safely say that chemical additives are rare.

[Ungoliant]

Now, I find it rather hilarious that we continue to talk about not knowing that bugs are in our food. As has been posted here many times, go look up the allowances put forth by the FDA for insects/insect parts, etc. in food. Not only that, try eating fruit off the vine/tree/etc. w/o getting a "bonus".

Most people are now so far removed from food production that they are naïve when it comes to things like bugs in food. Anyone who has grown food (even as a backyard hobby) quickly realizes how often there are bugs on it.

[Kruggar]

I like this discussion. I always enjoy informing vegans how many insects are consumed with veggies and pastas. If somehow there was a way to show them all the bugs they eat in a year independent of what they eat normally, Vegans would be more herbivores/insectivores.

Oh and this reminded me of one of my favourite Mitchell and Webb skits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63NNuG-6-hQ

---------- Post added 04-28-2012 at 09:53 AM ----------

OH! and while I'm being naughty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qP8LHurwHw

[Ungoliant]

The Onion's take on the Starbucks story:

American Voices: Starbucks Removes Beetle-Based Coloring
April 27, 2012 | ISSUE 48•17

Starbucks said it would stop using cochineal beetles to color its strawberry Frappuccinos and switch to a tomato-based food coloring. What do you think?

It's a shame they can't just make a strawberry Frappuccino out of some kind of naturally red fruit.
Penny Emge
Systems Analyst

Great. Now how am I supposed to be the weird guy at Starbucks who impresses girls with his knowledge of what's really in their strawberry Frappucino?
Winston Reninger
Doffer

Thank goodness cockroaches just crawl right into Dunkin' Donuts coffee machines every day so that I can still get my morning insect fix.
Blaine Foree
Screwhead Polisher