Discussion Board

Just when you thought if was safe to eat chocolate:

Ok, I've sworn off meat, eggs, dairy and coffee, now what? Apparently chocolate has a dark side too (no pun intended).

http://gma.yahoo.com/bugging-chocolate- ... -news.html

That was enough to make me never want to touch chocolate ever again. Eeeewww!!

This is just a fact of life. We all have to eat our "peck of dirt before we die!" Having started my career as a bookkeeper for a large restaurant group, I learned early what the guidelines are for all the stuff that is found in food. If you worry about it, you'd never eat anything! It's just there!

And, of course, there is the current fuss over the use of cochineal extract (crushed red bugs) at Starbucks in their Strawberry Frappuccino:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/lifestyle ... index.html
Which is funny, since cochineal extract is in tons of stuff. I used to like SoBe 0 cal. drinks and Vitamin Water 0 - until I started reading the labels - you guessed it - cochineal extract.
The thing is, you can make these things vegan by using beet juice extract for the red color. Sigh.
Kate

Just another reason to doubt wearing the term vegan! How many of us that claim that moniker really are 100%? Less than we think. It reminds me of the various heated discussions that pop up about what percent of the program we all follow. If you eat out or buy food you do not raise yourself you are not 100%! It's impossible. All we can do is what we can.
f1jim

"To avoid [insects in your food], it's almost impossible," said Teich. "You probably would have to stop eating completely."

To consume foods without traces of insects, producers would have to use more pesticides, which Teich believes are much worse than eating a few insects. Some argue that the pricier chocolate brands take extra precautions in separating the bugs from the beans but there is no evidence that proves it."

So, why pick on chocolate?

Indeed. Just check out the following list of food additives:
http://www.veggieglobal.com/nutrition/n ... s-no-e.htm
Kate

Being a gardener, I know it's impossible to keep the bugs out. Whether I eat what I grow or buy it in the grocery store, I wash it very thoroughly. Those pesky little bugs are everwhere. I try not to even think about the dust mites we breathe or the tiny lice that are on virually everyone's bodies. Then of course there's the bed bugs and bacteria.

It is not the chocolate per say, but the fact that the roaches are processed right along with it. That is true of virtually all processed foods. I am slowly cutting out processed foods from my diet, but it's a habit that's hard to break. Reading stuff like this helps.

Sooooo, if I eat chocolate I'm also getting my B12?

Yesss! I knew dark chocolate was a health food!

Also chocolate being a big part of the slave trade & imprisoning children to harvest it along the Ivory coast. Chocolate's always been a tough one for me too though.

http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/

I've ate worse. Try doing an inspection of your favorite restaurant's kitchen.

Don't forget catsup. A friend had a summer job with the Campbell soup company counting insect parts in catsup. The allowed amount was not zero.

Didi

OK I am thoroughly grossed out now!