>From: Renewable News Network <rnn@rnn.com>
>To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu
>Subject: request for information
>Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 10:56:48 -0400 (EDT)
>
>
>From rnn@rnn.com Mon Jul 19 09:30:16 1999
>Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 09:28:07 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Renewable News Network <rnn@rnn.com>
>To: san-x@rnn.com
>Subject: request for information
>
>Dear list people.
>
>I was wondering if I could get some pointers on how to read consumer
>product labels, what they mean, and what the alternatives are?
>
>Last holiday season I received a can of deodorant. Putting aside any
>meaning in such a gift - it was a stocking stuffer - another way
>to buy a piece of the holiday spirit; the ingredients bothered me,
>starting with SD alcohol 40-B, PROPANE (and) BUTANE (and) ISOBUTANE,
>WATER, PROPYLENE GLCOL, etc.
>
>Here's the article that inspired me to try to get a grip on the
>possibly dangerous products out there.
>
>Yours truly,
>Ross
>
>encl:
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>http://www.bobharris.com/
>
>Just how exactly do they make pink lemonade pink?
>
>Prompted by you, my demented readers, I did a little poking around, and
>sure enough, there is an answer. And that answer is
>
>Crushed beetle eggs.
>
>Bleaugh!
>
>That's really the truth. Now, not all pink lemonade uses this particular
>dye, so check your label, but it turns out that the red coloring often
>used is something called "cochineal extract," which extracted from the
>eggs of the cochineal beetle.
>
>The cochineal beetle, incidentally, is a little squirmy thing that lives
>in cactus plants in Peru and the Canary Islands. Which, if you ask me, is
>precisely where the cochineal beetle belongs, not in a cold summertime
>drink many of our kids chug by the gallon.
>
>The label doesn't always say "cochineal extract." Sometimes, if they
>purify the extract, they call it "carmine." Swell. It's still crushed
>insect eggs. A rose (coloring) by any other name
>
>And while beetle eggs are supposedly pretty safe, not everything Big
>Brother packs in your lunchbox is. Check out www.safe-food.org if you're
>curious about what the hell else is throbbing around in your fridge.
>
>Y'know what? For me, here's the distressing part: I'm a vegetarian and it
>turns out I eat crushed beetle eggs all the time. If you eat ice cream or
>yogurt or candy that has a red, pink, or purple tinge, guess what? You're
>gargling beetle juice. Call me crazy, but it seems like that ought to be
>on a label somewhere.
>
>"The lemons in this pink lemonade contain no pork, beef, mollusk, or
>kangaroo DNA, and the ade part became pink without the use of insects,
>spiders, or garter snakes."
>
>Just like Mom used to make.
>
>___________________________
>
>Bob Harris is a radio commentator, political writer, and stand-up
>comedian. His new book, Steal This Book And Get Life Without Parole, will
>be published soon by Common Courage Press.
>
>To receive a free email subscription to The Scoop, just send a blank email
>to BobHarris-subscribe@listbot.com.
>
>...you can find recent columns reprinted in the current print
>editions of Dollars & Sense, Extra!, and the Funny Times. Meanwhile,
>Mother Jones online (http://www.motherjones.com) now carries The Scoop
>every week. I am honored to be associated with these people. They rule.
>
>
>Send announcements, stories, and notices of interest to:
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>Contact: Ross M. Donald 781-453-9668 <rnn@rnn.com>
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