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The crushed bodies of a Central and South American insect, called the Cochineal, produces a natural red dye.
They are used for textiles, food-coloring, and cosmetics. Next time you see an ingredients list that includes carmine, cochineal extract or natural red 4, it comes from these bugs.
Every time I've scrolled past this thumbnail, my mind has gone to stigmata until I read the title.
Pretty interesting!
The Wikipedia article has a ton of info. This magazine article which Wikipedia references is imo a better introduction https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/technology/2022/cochineal-red-dye-bugs-moves-lab
Ateam has managed to bioengineer a fungi to produce it, but with very low yields. Another team has managed to get e coli to produce it, they estimated that a 100,000 L fermenter could produce the same amount as a hectare of land.
100,000L is 100m^3 which is a cube with 4.7m side length. ~15'x15'x15' or uhh ~~~the size of 4 F150s.
Edit to add: a hectare is 100m x 100m ie ~100 yards x 100 yards.
the size of 4 F150s.
As an American, I appreciate you converting to a measurement I can understand.
Starbucks got a lot of backlash for using this in there drinks a few years back
They used to use this to dye Campari red actually.
Vegetarians of Lemmy, what's your thoughts on this? I've known about this for a while, but I'm looking for gelatin on that ingredients list, not bugs - I genuinely don't care, there's probably trace bugs in there regardless, lol.
I've known a couple of vegans that wouldn't eat it. One was disappointed to learn a drink he liked contained it. But he stopped drinking it.
I can't be bothered to that degree. I'll watch for gelatin. And if I knew which thing to look for, I might avoid this as well. But I don't care enough to go out of my way and learn.
Killing with intent is where I draw the line. Bugs were very important in our journey to understand brains and thus deserve some respect as a cognitive being imo.
He is the messiah!
Sounds like a bug that would burrow into your ear canal.
Looks like when I squish a mozzie.
Can you make red dye from blood?
I believe, you can also crush humans and it produces a red dye...
More of a brown dye really by the time it dries.
And stigmata
the crushed bodies
Most metal description I've read in this community.
Terraria taught me this
do you read mob names? I only know a handfull of special ones'.
That beetle shows up on enemy detector so much while I'm looking for actual special mobs to farm for drops
