Eat Zee Bugs

[newsmike]

Read those labels closely. Major food brands already adding ground up insects to your food:

[miiila]

Must be the protein trend. Hard to find anything they aren't adding and advertising as protein this or protein that these days. 

Really, though, that's been in use as a colorant in cosmetics and food for ages, at least here. In lipstick, it kind of serves both functions in one. Yummy. They tend to call it E120 or Natural Red 4, though, to make it more palatable, I guess.

[words_to_wow]

Oh my goodness 😳. Some people actually eat that kind of stuff, though. I myself have eaten crickets 😋 🤷🏾‍♀️. Lol. 

[catwriter]

2 hours ago, miiila said:

Really, though, that's been in use as a colorant in cosmetics and food for ages, at least here.

Here, too.

[moikchap]

Another fun one... if you're eating something vanilla flavoured, but the ingredients say "natural flavours" without directly saying vanilla or vanillin... it's probably trying to hide the fact that it's castoreum. If they were using proper, expensive vanilla they would probably say it outright, and commercial vanillin is typically the synthetic variant so they can't lump it into "natural flavours".

[rachelbostwick]

If they can trick me into eating bugs and thinking they're yummy, they definitely deserve my money 😇

[maheennadeem814]

I guess it's time to start reading the labels even closer, or just stick to eating at home! 😄

[zeus777]

Years ago a Korean coworker of mine went back home for vacation and came back with a can of....I think it was silk worm pupa or something along that line.
She had the can in the break room so people can eat it but nobody tried it, except for me.
It had no taste, it was liked a boiled macaroni. According to her, it's a rich course of protein and is good for your skin.

I don't mind eating bugs that much as long as it doesn't have its original shape/form. 

[words_to_wow]

37 minutes ago, zeus777 said:

I don't mind eating bugs that much as long as it doesn't have its original shape/form. 

I agree. The bugs I ate were covered in caramel or chocolate or something. And they were kind of crunchy. I'm a texture-first, taste-second eater, so I was okay with it.

[katakatica]

I found out about bugs in the strawberry yogurt  (that's how the teacher explained it to us) back in Biology class back in high school (so a very long time ago.) I was shocked and swore never to eat it again but...

It lasted for a few days ha. 

I wonder if the laws are now just saying to show the actual name of the component instead of just Ewhatever/etc. It definitely didn't come as a shock for me but I think that's likely because we learned out it in school (not exactly sure why anymore though, the rest of that and other lessons we had are a blur since I was busy writing fanfictions in the back of my notebook.)

I've eaten scorpions and other things that might be considered odd by some people but for the most part I like them (scorpions I'd never have again but that's more of a food anxiety thing.) The texture was good though! 
 

6 hours ago, zeus777 said:

hink it was silk worm pupa o

I've had that fried in China - was the one thing I was very confused about (not a fan of the texture) but I think the flavour on it was fun! 
 

[kendal1747]

On 1/28/2023 at 5:43 PM, maheennadeem814 said:

just stick to eating at home!

I like this solution the best.

[theratypist]

31 minutes ago, kendal1747 said:

On 1/29/2023 at 6:43 AM, maheennadeem814 said:

just stick to eating at home!

I like this solution the best.

The problem there would be if you were using said food product that contained the ingredients at home anyway! Hahaha. To avoid it entirely is grow and raise everything you want to consume, or perhaps just read the fine print 😅

[maheennadeem814]

59 minutes ago, theratypist said:

The problem there would be if you were using said food product that contained the ingredients at home anyway! Hahaha. To avoid it entirely is grow and raise everything you want to consume, or perhaps just read the fine print 😅

Ha! Yes, growing your own food or reading labels carefully is one way to ensure you know what you're consuming. Another option is to seek out products that are made with all-natural, whole ingredients. 🌱

[maheennadeem814]

1 hour ago, kendal1747 said:

I like this solution the best.

Hi @kendal1747, I am glad that you find this solution to be the best option! 😊

[kendal1747]

A big problem we have is, "do we know what is in our food?" Here is a small section from an article about metals found in baby food.-The new report from a consumer advocacy group found that 95 percent of 168 commercial baby foods tested contained toxic heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium, and one in four products contained all four. Among the top offenders were rice-based cereals and snacks, juices and sweet potatoes.

[kendal1747]

We are going to have to try to grow some of our food. But try to stay away from GMOs.

[vickieito]

3 hours ago, theratypist said:

To avoid it entirely is grow and raise everything you want to consume, or perhaps just read the fine print 

2 hours ago, maheennadeem814 said:

Ha! Yes, growing your own food or reading labels carefully is one way to ensure you know what you're consuming.

Not exactly. In studies taken on plants grown in uncontaminated soils, levels of toxic heavy metals were found to exceed the allowable limits of Prop 65 by roughly 10 times. Most people won't be doing heavy metal testing on the soil that they use for gardening (or study the environmental factors that may affect the composition of their soils).

Here's what I had to include on the labels for the dietary supplement products that I was developing:

I'm all for growing your own foods. But if you really want to know what's in your food, you'd have to test it.

My parents own an organic aquaponics farm, which is even better because the plants aren't grown in soil that's affected by a number of environmental factors. They have a lot of control over what the plants are grown in and the nutritional composition of the water because they control the feed of the fish in that system.

However, it is extremely expensive to maintain with all the testing, monitoring, and systems needed to run the farm and maintain the organic certification. It's only a a small backyard farm. Even selling lettuce for $16/lb didn't cover all the costs for maintaining the farm.  They will be shutting down the farm this year, which is sad because their lettuce always sold out within a few hours of being on the shelf and nothing compares to the taste of that lettuce!

On 1/28/2023 at 12:21 PM, rachelbostwick said:

If they can trick me into eating bugs and thinking they're yummy, they definitely deserve my money 😇

Personally (not as a food scientist), I really don't care too much about what I'm eating as long as it tastes good. Once I was fed Rocky Mountain Oysters without knowing what it was. I just thought it was really chewy pieces of fried chicken. 😊 Traditional Eskimo ice cream (akutaq) is really just fat and berries ...I think it was seal fat in the olden days, but they use a tub of shortening now.

I think bugs are a great source of protein and silkworm pupae look like they would be great to add in stir fry because there's less prep involved (like when you have to cut up chicken)!

Edited January 30, 2023 by vickieito

[maheennadeem814]

On 1/31/2023 at 2:32 AM, vickieito said:

Not exactly. In studies taken on plants grown in uncontaminated soils, levels of toxic heavy metals were found to exceed the allowable limits of Prop 65 by roughly 10 times. Most people won't be doing heavy metal testing on the soil that they use for gardening (or study the environmental factors that may affect the composition of their soils).

Here's what I had to include on the labels for the dietary supplement products that I was developing:

I'm all for growing your own foods. But if you really want to know what's in your food, you'd have to test it.

My parents own an organic aquaponics farm, which is even better because the plants aren't grown in soil that's affected by a number of environmental factors. They have a lot of control over what the plants are grown in and the nutritional composition of the water because they control the feed of the fish in that system.

However, it is extremely expensive to maintain with all the testing, monitoring, and systems needed to run the farm and maintain the organic certification. It's only a a small backyard farm. Even selling lettuce for $16/lb didn't cover all the costs for maintaining the farm.  They will be shutting down the farm this year, which is sad because their lettuce always sold out within a few hours of being on the shelf and nothing compares to the taste of that lettuce!

Personally (not as a food scientist), I really don't care too much about what I'm eating as long as it tastes good. Once I was fed Rocky Mountain Oysters without knowing what it was. I just thought it was really chewy pieces of fried chicken. 😊 Traditional Eskimo ice cream (akutaq) is really just fat and berries ...I think it was seal fat in the olden days, but they use a tub of shortening now.

I think bugs are a great source of protein and silkworm pupae look like they would be great to add in stir fry because there's less prep involved (like when you have to cut up chicken)!

Points to be noted. 

[vovkaslovesnyy]

[vickiespencer]

On 1/30/2023 at 2:32 PM, vickieito said:

Once I was fed Rocky Mountain Oysters

In Montana, there is a town that has a Rocky Mountain Oyster festival every summer. They taste similar to chicken gizzards, I have been told. 

[kendal1747]

When I worked in accounting for a Utility company in Tennessee, a software salesman was there from the state of Washington. One of our salesmen took him to lunch and ordered Rooster Fries. They are a considered a delicacy there. He did not know what they were, but said they were delicious. The salesmen told him after the meal, that he had just eaten a meal similar to Rocky Mountain Oysters. The guy never came back to the Utility company again. 

[vickieito]

1 hour ago, vickiespencer said:

They taste similar to chicken gizzards, I have been told. 

I've never had chicken gizzards before ...is it chewy? Rocky Mountain Oysters taste like chicken with a chewy texture much more palatable than fish eyes. With fish eyeballs, you kind of have to chew and chew and it never gets to the point where you want to swallow.

Edited February 1, 2023 by vickieito

[kendal1747]

1 hour ago, vickieito said:

I've never had chicken gizzards before ...is it chewy?

Yes, they are very chewy. After all that part of the chicken is used to grind up food. There is a tough coating on the gizzard and my mother always takes that part off.  I like chicken liver, especially fried with onion and breaded. 

[vickieito]

1 minute ago, kendal1747 said:

I like chicken liver, especially fried with onion and breaded. 

Now that sounds yummy! 🤤

[meldawn9]

I'm in Canada and they've been putting cochineal extract in food for decades now. That being said, I am vegetarian and do my best to avoid it. (Yes, I know I may inadvertently be eating bugs in fruit or veggies.)