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Phew! Starbucks to Stop Using Crushed Beetles

By On · Add Comment · In artificial drinks, cochineal beetles, ovo-lacto vegetarian, Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccino, vegan

Don’t you just love a good Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccino? Mmm…delicious strawberry coloring and taste, the crushed beetles are so authentic. Crushed beetles? Yes–I mean how did you think they manufactured that pink strawberry-like coloring? Oh…ha ha ha…you thought fresh strawberries? Oh heavens, and did you think Chicken McNuggets were chicken?…

Well it looks like hordes of non-discerning consumers–oddly many vegans–are upset that Starbucks uses crushed-up beetles to make their unusually pink drinks pink. I guess being vegetarian doesn’t require any complex understanding of food–you know, like the natural coloring of fruit is not maintained once its structure is disrupted (it’s kind of observational…apple turns brown when you bite it…). Consequently, they gotta use something artificial to make artificial drinks.

“Natural” Cochineal Beetles

Soooo….since Starbucks relies so heavily on its non-discriminating customers, and it wouldn’t think of continuing to offend such pure dietary champions as its vegetarian base, it has decided to stop its practice of using crushed up cochineal beetles. Bravo! Now they can use chemicals like everybody else!

And Starbucks’ vegan customers can continue to fool themselves into believing that they are actually drinking strawberries–yay! Ha ha ha…human folly.

More on Vegetarianism

By On · Add Comment · In dairy, eggs, meat, protein, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarianism

In my article last month on protein and vitamin B deficiency I speak about a woman who called me about her vegetarian daughter’s lack of energy and ability to concentrate. I pointed out that my advice was to kick the vegetarianism.

However, what I failed to mention in the article was that I also said, “If [quitting vegetarianism] is out of the question, then you should, at the very least, make sure your daughter is getting her protein through dairy and/or eggs.” This is essential. As I said last post, you can get some protein from most vegetable sources, but meat, by far, is the best source. Eggs and dairy are the next best sources.

What this means for vegans–no meat, no eggs, no dairy–is that they really have to be diligent in getting their daily protein. Since very few vegetables are high quality proteins–that is, containing all essential amino acids in sufficient concentrations–many different vegetables must be consumed throughout the day. It can be done, no question; but the average busy person (vegetarian)…isn’t doing it.

And what about those high quality proteins (soybeans, quinoa, and spinach)? Well, you’d have to eat them solely, or eat the low quality vegetarian protein sources at such a high quantity that it would be virtually impossible to do so for long. According to one vegetarian website, you’d have to eat “12-1/3 cups of cooked corn OR 6-1/2 large potatoes OR 2-1/2 cups of tofu OR 15-1/2 cups of cooked brown rice.” And you know that isn’t going to happen.

So…just eat meat.

Is Your Kid a Vegetarian?

By On · Add Comment · In health, kids, protein, teens, vegan, vegetarian, vegetarianism, vitamin B deficiency
Have you heard? 1 out of every 200 kids is a vegetarian. Dang, that’s dumb!

A recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that a whopping 367,000 youths don’t eat the meat. Some vegetarians eat fish and dairy, others are vegan–no meat, no dairy, nada. The typical teen vegetarian is female, from higher-income family, living on the East or West coast. Sound familiar?

Vegetarianism, isn’t just for girls anymore; plenty of boys are doing it, too. Rarely is this dietary lifestyle taken up for health reasons. Most kids cite animal welfare as the reason they’re doing it. They don’t eat meat because…it’s inhumane. Swear. And with the popularity of certain chicken slaughtering videos on You Tube…well, I guess you can figure out the rest.*

Wow! I’m sure you can guess my feeling on this. If you read my monthly articles, you definitely know I think it’s a dangerous health game to be playing–vegetarianism for kids, that is. I said so in my last article on protein and vitamin B deficiency. Kids keep growing until they are 25 years old. They need protein; they need nutrients (vitamins B, D, iron and calcium); the best foods to get them from is meat, fish, and dairy. Yes, you can get protein from vegetable sources. But it’s hard; and it requires lots of planning and preparing–something that most adults have a hard time doing, let alone your average teenager.

But the conscience of the typical teen vegetarian guides them, along with some good old fashioned parental ignorance. Listen up parents: vegetarianism isn’t in the best interest of your child’s health. I predict we are going to see some ill adults within the next 20-30 years as a result of this fad.

*I talk about the unacceptable conditions of many of the country’s poultry farms in my book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health; but I don’t think that endangering one’s health with vegetarianism is the answer.

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