Starbucks to stop using crushed beetles as food dye

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

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.

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

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".:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm: Furthermore, I know folks that work in Harbucks' product development and can safely say that chemical additives are rare.

zonbonzovi said:

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".

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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.

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

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​

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