December 11, 2003

• That is interesting. I agree that they should be labeled 'non-vegan' or something. There is a very interesting chapter in "Fast Food Nation" about natural vs. non-natural flavoring additives and food colorings. The line between the two is razor thin and really not too useful to the consumer. I don't really have a problem with eating insect parts, but I love the color of natural grapefruit juice and don't see why it needs to be changed...
• Yeah FFN was a great book, the natural/artificial flavorings chapters were interesting. I didn't realize that (what was it 80%?) of taste comes from smell. And that flavoring companies are mostly former perfume companies. I had an "energy drink" the other day that was definitely emitting radioactive energy it was such an unholy blue color.
• this sounded like an urban legend to me, but it turns out it's true.
• I always used to wonder why people needed their grapefruit juice to be bright pink anyway, but since cochineal is in so much of what we eat (I learned that from FFN too!) it's not a bother. But I also think it'd be good to notify vegetarians/vegans and people who might be allergic. Mind you, I'm sure someone who's allergic to cochineal knows what they're looking for. (Next thing we'll have to put an allergy warning on peanut butter: Warning, contains nuts.)
• I ate a bee once. Yawned at the bus stop, and it just flew right in.
• Apparently I've been smoking it too. (Find "indigotin") And it seems the grapefruit juice people are either negligently Pro Cancer or trying to encourage frequent Happy Release Fes, my 12 year old boy got tongue-stung last summer. I said, "Ha ha".
• (Next thing we'll have to put an allergy warning on peanut butter: Warning, contains nuts.) Speaking of peanut allergies, my first exposure to the fact that people could even have that allergy was in boarding school, where a friend revealed he had it--so he always asked about certain dishes where peanuts might be involved. His roommate, a singularly dull-witted, greasy prat, could not comprehend much science and certainly did not understand what allergies were. So he concluded my friend would only be bothered if he saw peanut butter. One evening, my friend wakes up, barely able to breathe, the stench of peanut butter filling his nostrils. He hears the smack of lips from the bunk bed below, and through his tightening throat, gasps, "Are you eating peanut butter!?" "Uh, no dude. [smack lips]" The rest of the conversation's details are a matter of some debate. However, it appears the prat felt if my friend was not aware of peanut butter, that he (the prat) could consume mass quantities of it no matter what physical proximity it was to my friend. We're still not sure if the prat had a severely inhibited sense of smell, but we are sure that the prat, being a prat of small stature and possessing the muscle and courage comparable to a peanut butter sandwich, received a right good pasting from my friend. That said, I enjoy both peanut butter and grapefruit juice--not necessarily together.
• well white grapefruit juice is no problem. It's the Ruby Red stuff that's buggy.
• Yikes- you skeert me! My President's Choice Ruby Red claims to have only grapefruit juice as its ingredient. Bound to be a few inadvertent bugs, but no intentional ones, I hope.
• check for the carmine. Carmine Ragusa.