How Bugs Find Their Way Into Your Food

Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, has been getting a lot of media attention in recent years. Conservationists promote it as a solution to feeding an exploding global population. Insects, after all, are a high protein food source and dont impact the planet in ways that animals higher up the food chain do. Of course, news stories about insects as food tend to focus on the ick factor. While grubs and caterpillars are diet staples in many parts of the world, U.S. audiences tend to get squeamish at the thought of eating bugs. Well, heres some  news for you. You eat bugs. Every day. Even if youre vegetarian, you cant avoid consuming insects if you eat anything that has been processed, packaged, canned, or prepared. You are, without a doubt, getting a bit of bug protein in your diet. In some cases, the bug bits are intentional ingredients, and in some cases, theyre just by-products of the way we harvest and package our food. Red Food Coloring When the FDA changed food-labeling requirements in 2009, many consumers were startled to learn that manufacturers put crushed bugs in their food products for color. Outrageous! Cochineal extract, which comes from a scale insect, has been used as a red dye or coloring for centuries. Cochineal bugs (Dactylopius coccus) are true bugs belonging to the order Hemiptera. These tiny insects make a living by sucking the sap from cactus. To defend themselves, cochineal bugs produce carminic acid, a foul-tasting, bright red substance that makes predators think twice about eating them. The Aztecs used crushed cochineal bugs to dye fabrics a brilliant crimson. Today, cochineal extract is used as a natural coloring in many foods and drinks. Farmers in Peru and the Canary Islands produce most of the worlds supply, and its an important industry that supports workers in otherwise impoverished areas. And there are certainly worse things that manufacturers could use to color their products. To find out if a product contains cochineal bugs, look for any of the following ingredients on the label: cochineal extract, cochineal, carmine, carminic acid, or Natural Red No. 4. Confectioners Glaze If youre a vegetarian with a sweet tooth, you might be shocked to learn that many candy and chocolate products are made with bugs, too. Everything from jelly beans to milk duds is coated in something called confectioners glaze.   And confectioners glaze comes from bugs. The Lac bug, Laccifer lacca, inhabits tropical and subtropical regions. Like the cochineal bug, the Lac bug is a scale insect (order Hemiptera). It lives as a parasite on plants, particularly banyan trees. The Lac bug uses special glands to excrete a waxy, waterproof coating for protection. Unfortunately for the Lac bug, people figured out long ago that these waxy secretions are also useful for waterproofing other things, like furniture. Ever heard of shellac? Lac bugs are big business in India and Thailand, where they are cultivated for their waxy coatings. Workers scrape the Lac bugs glandular secretions from the host plants, and in the process, some of the Lac bugs get scraped off, too. The waxy bits are typically exported in flake form, called sticklac or gum lac, or sometimes just shellac flakes. Gum lac is used in all kinds of products: waxes, adhesives, paints, cosmetics, varnishes, fertilizers, and more. Lac bug secretions also make their way into medicines, usually as a coating that makes pills easy to swallow. Food manufacturers seem to know that putting shellac on an ingredient list might alarm some consumers, so they often use other, less industrial-sounding names to identify it on food labels. Look for any of the following ingredients on labels to find the hidden Lac bugs in your food: candy glaze, resin glaze, natural food glaze, confectioners glaze, confectioners resin, Lac resin, Lacca, or gum lac. Fig Wasps And then, of course, there are the fig wasps. If youve ever eaten Fig Newtons, or dried figs, or anything containing dried figs, youve no doubt eaten a fig wasp or two as well. Figs require pollination by a tiny female fig wasp. The fig wasp sometimes becomes entrapped within the fig fruit (which is technically not a fruit, its an inflorescence called the syconia), and becomes part of your meal. Insect Parts Honestly, theres no way to pick, package, or produce food without getting a few bugs in the mix. Insects are everywhere. The Food and Drug Administration recognized this reality, and issued regulations concerning how many bug bits are allowable in food items before they become a health concern. Known as the Food Defect Action Levels, these guidelines determine how many insect eggs, body parts, or whole insect bodies can get by the inspectors before being flagged in a given product. So, truth be told, even the most squeamish among us eats bugs, like it or not. Sources: The Truth About Red Food Dye Made From Bugs, LiveScience, April 27, 2012. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Scientists Make Red Food Dye from Potatoes, Not Bugs, National Geographic, September 19, 2013. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Calimyrna Figs in California, Wayne P. Armstrong, Palomar College. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Humans as Fig Eaters, FigWeb, Iziko Museums of South Africa. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Laccifer Lacca, Gwen Pearson (Bug Girls Blog), February 14, 2011. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Q A on Shellac, the Vegetarian Resource Group blog, November 30, 2010. Accessed online November 26, 2013.

The Gods Of The Ancient World - 1105 Words

Some of the Goddesses of the Ancient World The goddesses named in this chapter occur in the midst of the earliest pagan deities mentioned in numerous ancient writings; particularly, the ones frequently linked to the land of Canaan. In fact, several of the goddesses that promoted idolatry and prostitution exist directly in the King James Version of the Bible, such as Ashtoreth, Diana and Lilith. Although, the word ‘prostitute’ exists only once (Lev 19:29), still, prostitution happens to be identified with various words; such as â€Å"whore(s), whoredom(s). harlot(s), pollute or polluted;† (which can mean prostitute) that encounters being mentioned frequently. The prophets of the Bible warned regarding whoring after other gods and goddesses and†¦show more content†¦For due to the goddess, routinely unmarried women, including those from the chief families in the country, befell being ordered to prostitute themselves in the temple at least once during their lifetime. Herodotus’ describes this ancient practice that exploited women sexually, stating: Emphatically, due to the goddesses, women and young girls required to have their virginity callously stolen away–how sick is that? Indeed, the paint brush of this practice appears to be broad among the fertility goddesses, for this domination became witnessed repeatedly in various lands; instigating unwanted pregnancy. Generally, the most vulnerable time in a female’s life occurs generally during pregnancy or the rearing of small children; therefore this reality helped evil cripple women into submission through the centuries. The following occurs as a brief summary of a few of the main goddesses in the land of Mesopotamia, the ancient Middle East and surrounding areas. Lilith Lilith became intertwined with Ishtar and Inanna in Babylonian as sacred prostitutes, and in the Old Testament her existence occurs subtly. Furthermore, Lilith became a sexual predator towards men and dwelled in desolate desert places as stated in the Bible. Along with other demons, Lilith occurs referenced in the Dead Sea Scrolls that contains an undeniable indication of Lilith’s reputation by being grouped with evil. Virtually, early portrayals of various demons identify with Lilith and became

Society with Soul Free Essays

A Society with Soul â€Å"As the soil, however rich it may be, cannot be productive without cultivation, so the mind without culture can never produce good fruit. † This quote by Seneca, a Roman philosopher, says that nothing good can ever come out of the absence of culture. Throughout history, many have argued that a society stripped of its culture is a society stripped of its soul. We will write a custom essay sample on Society with Soul or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the novel Things Fall Apart, the Ibo people are completely taken of their culture by the white colonialists. Despite a growing pattern of submission to new culture within the tribe, the people never truly lost their soul. The Ibo tribe was invaded by outsiders, their culture threatened with accusations on their way of life, worship, and customs, practically being forced into submission. The Ibo people may have been entirely stripped of their culture, but definitely not of their soul. Due to the colonialists attempting to assimilate the Ibo people, the tribe lost their culture but not the essence of who they are, allowing them to triumph against all odds. The white people pushed to assimilate the Africans, especially in their religion, ultimately tearing families apart and disconnecting the tribe. Obierika even says, â€Å"The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on things that held us together and we have fallen apart,† (Achebe 152). As the British colonized the Ibo tribes in Africa, they brought with them their new religion of Christianity. At first these new beliefs were not accepted by the Ibo people, but quickly became a major threat to their old way of life. The appeal of wealth and the flow of money into their village from British traders, in combination with support for the colonialists’ new government and judicial system, eventually attracted many Ibos to convert to Christianity. Ibo society was torn in half, with some being lured in by the British, and others staying faithful to traditional Ibo customs. In addition, by the white missionaries seeking to convert children into their religion, there was no one to carry on the tribe’s traditions, resulting in the falling apart of the tribal system. The attempts of the colonialists to assimilate the Africans in religion caused families and the tribe to be divided. Despite these challenges, the tribe did not lose the essence of who they are and stayed true to a lot of the beliefs of their culture. The Ibo people were stripped of their culture by the colonialists, but they never lost their soul. Amidst the invasion of the white people, the Africans still found ways to maintain their beliefs and the essence of who they were. When Okoli killed the sacred python, he clearly went against traditional Ibo customs, but at the same time, he inadvertently reinforced Ibo customs. The Ibo people always look back to their culture for guidance and believe in it regardless of outside threats. Because it is all they have ever known, the tribe maintains their peaceful ways by deciding not to drive the Christians out with acts of violence, but rather, by ostracizing them. Soon afterwards, Okoli dies of an illness, which reaffirms the tribe’s trust in their gods. â€Å"His death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles,† (Achebe 141) and would rightfully punish those who went against them. It made the tribe realize that the gods were still with them, causing them to repeal the new policy of ostracism towards the converts. Furthermore, n the end, the colonialists may have ultimately drove Okonkwo to kill himself, forcing him to go against his culture, but in doing so, Okonkwo also reminded the tribe of their culture. In taking his own life, he reasserted Ibo beliefs, one of the tribesman even saying, â€Å"It is against our custom,† (Achebe 178) when asked by the District Commissioner why the tribe could not take Okonkwo down from the tree. The tribesman went on to say, â€Å"It is an abomination for a man to take his own life,† (Achebe 78). In spite of threats to their way of life and a growing disconnection of their tribe, the Ibos remained true to their culture no matter what. In conclusion, the Ibo people never lost what made them who they were despite challenges presented by the British colonialists. The white people’s attempt to assimilate Africans to the Christian faith resulted in the tearing apart of families, the disconnection of the tribe, and subsequently, the loss of the entire Ibo culture. Notwithstanding, the Ibo people did not lose their soul, or the essence of who they are. Regardless of accusations on their way of life and mounted submission to new culture, the Ibo people were undeterred by the threat of invaders. The Ibo tribe was a society entirely stripped of their culture that made it out on the other side not stripped of their soul. How to cite Society with Soul, Essay examples