I remember being shocked years ago while on a visit to London at the number of Starbucks that lined the streets.  They were everywhere! Washington D.C.– same thing.  Starbucks Starbucks Starbucks.

Now I don’t know about you, but in my humble opinion I tend to find chains like these a tad bit noxious.  Like Wal-mart, they seem to drive out independent businesses, lack culture, and serve inferior products.

The latest from this mega-giant? Bugs!!  That’s right.  And I suppose it shouldn’t surprise us.

Carmine, which comes from ground up insects from Mexico & South America, is used to color a lot on the grocery shelves including jams, meats, alcoholic drinks, cheeses, etc.– and now Starbucks is admitting to using it to color their strawberry frappucinos.  Can we say ick?

Vegetarians and vegans beware.  If sugar overload and artificial ingredients weren’t a concern for you, perhaps bugs will be.

To sum things up: I highly urge you to seek out local & independently owned coffee shops in your town that are committed to serving organic & fair trade coffee and that support cruelty-free practices & ingredients.

Update: Starbucks has decided against using carmine in their products due to customer concern.  Let’s just hope they don’t replace it with Red #40 (or some such other artificial dye).