Telling Stories

Maybe Someone Should Ask Us "Do You Want Bugs With That"?

No, this is not about dead-end fast-food jobs.  Unfortunately, it's far more disgusting.  I came across this slide show at MSN.com on some little-known additives:

Carmine

According to the FDA, this red food coloring (also known as cochineal extract) is made from dried, ground bugs. The Dactylopius coccus costa insect is native to Peru and the Canary Islands, where it feeds on red berries. The berries accumulate in the females' stomachs and in their unhatched larvae—which is what gives the extract its red coloring. Carmine is one of the most widely used coloring agents, and food manufacturers routinely use it to turn foods shades of pink, red or purple. Chances are it's what makes the color of your strawberry yogurt or that cranberry drink look so appealing.

But the problem is that at the moment, you have no way of knowing if you're ingesting these little red bugs. Instead, the label will simply read, "artificial color" or "color added." But the Vegetarian Legal Action Network petitioned the FDA to disclose the presence of carmine, and  in 2010, that requirement will go into effect. "But it will still be listed only as carmine or cochineal extract, with no mention of the ingredient's source," says Michael Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "The onus will be on the consumer to know what carmine is, and that's asking a lot."

Emphasis added.  But wait, there's more

Shellac

Just in case you haven't eaten your fill of bugs, here's another opportunity for insect consumption. Shellac—which is used to make that shiny coating on jelly beans and to give fresh fruits and vegetables that perfect, glossy finish—is made from the excretions of Kerria lacca insects that are native to Thailand. Again, vegetarian lobbyists have urged the FDA to require that labeling indicate if fruits and vegetables are coated with an insect-derived substance. The FDA wouldn't go that far, but, according to Jacobson, it did require produce packers to disclose whether any coating used is animal- or vegetable-derived. "But it would be on a placard or on the box of produce, not in bold type on the fruit or vegetable itself," says Jacobson, and not necessarily displayed to grocery shoppers. "And I don't know that the regulation is very strongly enforced," he adds.

Emphasis added.  And more.

Gelatin

Gelatin is used in many packaged foods as a thickening agent. In addition to gummy candy, gelatin is found in Jell-O, ice cream and yogurt. But those innocent-looking little Gummi Bears are hiding a somewhat distasteful secret.

According to the USDA, the gelatin that gives them their kid-pleasing texture is created at the expense of several different animal parts, including ligaments, skin, tendons and bones.

Emphasis added.  All of a sudden, going organic doesn't sound too much of an imposition anymore.  After all, who in their right mind would say "I'll have an apple and a side of bugs to go with it"?

Grass-Fed Beef

I decided to try grass-fed beef over the weekend.  There were a couple of considerations involved but, primarily, I wanted to try it because it is supposed to be healthier for you, healthier for the cows (if they are going to get slaughtered anyhow, they might as well live healthy, you know), and better for the environment.  I also read that grass-fed beef didn't taste like regular beef, so I wondered what it would taste like.

I bought a pound of grass-fed ground beef and a pound of grass-fed pork bacon.  Wife wasn't nearly as exited about trying this as I was, however.  Her words, or close to it, were, "why do we have to try this f***ing tree-hugger sh*t?"  Suffice to say that, in my household, I need to have environmental consciousness for two.

Saturday we had grass-fed burgers on the grill.  Wife was not amused.  Personally, I think that if I had served her the burger without telling her what it was, she would not have complained.  She didn't like it and she said that, from now on, I can have whatever I want, including "that tree-hugger sh*t," but she was having store-bought, irradiated, beef.  And that's why I, after Sunday's eggs and grass-fed bacon breakfast, have nearly a pound of grass-fed bacon in my refrigerator.

Anyhow, here's my $0.02 on grass-fed beef.  The texture of the ground beef was a little different than grain-fed-store-bought meat.  It was much leaner than I expected.  Your average ground beef at the grocery store is either 80-85% lean.  This felt closer to 90-95%.  But get this: it was moist.  It wasn't dry at all.  I think it had a somewhat different flavor to it, but the burger had so much stuff in it - ketchup, dry onion flakes, dry onion soup mix, one egg, and oatmeal - that it was hard to tell for sure.  Personally, I was very much satisfied with it and - budget permitting - will do so as often as I can in the future.

I liked the bacon, and I'm not really a bacon fan to begin with.  It had a nice, semi-sweet aroma and it was just as good as the store-bought stuff.  I can't say I'll buy it again, though, since I'm not really that big on bacon.  But I would not hesitate to eat it again.

Tags: Food and Drink, Environment