Vegans upset with Starbucks' use of beetle extract

A vegan Starbucks barista outed the company by disclosing that Strawberries and Cream Frappucinos and Strawberry Smoothies at Starbucks are NOT vegan because the strawberry sauce the coffee chain uses contains "cochineal extract". * Vegetarians upset with Starbucks' use of beetle extract

Comments

[Colleen]

I'd rather eat the cochineal (which is in a ton of foods) than artificial red dye, which has been shown to cause cancer in mice

[Jeff Tom]

Here is a news flash for vegetarians.... MANY organic farms use "natural manure products" that contain fish, fish emulsions, and other animal defecations" that may have eaten other animals. Your all naturally grown product STILL contains animal by-product "in" it.

[morningbecomes]

"Kosher customers upset with Starbucks use of beetle extract"... well, neither of those drinks (protein fiber; frappucino syrup") were kosher to begin with.

[ImChiquita]

Do what I do - and don't drink STCFs.

[LadyKathryn]

But isn't there dairy in the creme Frappuccino base? So, it wasn't vegan to begin with. (I don't care about this ingredient either way, personally. I'm just a little baffled by all the folks complaining that it isn't vegan.)

[...]

the strawberries and cream and the smoothies were never vegan to begin with (base pumps and protein powder, as stated above me). i am vegan and i know that. if someone is that strict about their diet, they investigate things BEFORE they eat them!

[...]

p.s. beetles are used for red coloring in MANY red foods!! people should either think about what they are eating (and avoid what they dont want to eat) or NOT think about it... if you arent educated, you cant be angry at a company for using something that is actually more natural than red dyes and chemicals!! as americans we eat so many chemicals and bugs in foods that it is silly to be so up in arms about this one. if it is an INTENDED additive it is at least regulated and "clean"... think about the added crap like rat hairs and spiders from factories? and all the nasty chemicals added to foods?

[I <3 music]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

[BaileysOG]

@I <3 music: HILARIOUS.

[j]

the creme base is dairy free.

[Jeff Tom]

Dear vegans, you can put sensors on plants. When you pluck their leaves or harvest from them, they essentially "scream" in pain and trauma.

Choke on that!

[onemansopinion]

I don't get this. Vegetarians and vegans have made a choice, and a poor one at that. Not only is the lack of protein and saturated animal fats in your diet making you weak, it also seems to make you whiney and annoying. You made a choice, stick with it. Nobody else gives a sh*t, so don't expect them to cater to you.

[spence]

@j: Yes, the creme base is dairy free. But what do you put in the cup before the base? Milk.

[j]

uh, or soy?

[CD]

@I <3 music - thank you - that was quite funny!

[No Red Dye 40]

I don't think Starbucks has hidden their use of this ingredient and their response actually surprises me.

I am actually more surprised they continue to use Red Dye #40 in their raspberry syrup years after they claimed to provide healthier ingredients and the elimination of artificial ingredients and trans fats.

The red color is not necessary in the syrup but they continue to use it.

Why?

[Coffee Soldier]

Dear Vegans there is dairy particles in the caramel sauce too!

[Confused as always]

A vegan - a capitalist excess? What would Marx say?

[...]

the caramel sauce is primarily dairy. the only "thick" sauce that we have that is vegan is mocha. all of the rest have dairy in them... white mocha, caramel brulee, pumpkin spice, etcetcetc. i always tell people there is dairy in all of those when they get a soy beverage and specify no whipped cream (if they are getting the whipped cream i know the soy is not because they are vegan or have a dairy allergy). i have a dairy allergy and am also vegan btw, and i bet i get more protein in my diet than most people on this site! lol :)

[latte]

Mocha also has dairy in it. Read the bag.

[Obvious]

Mocha does NOT have dairy in it. Read the bag.

[R1]

Why do strawberries need to be more red?

[Confused as always]

Because they won't last more than a week in current packaging without spoiling? And with preservatives, they lose their natural color. Get it? It's actually quite simple...

[Tw]

So here is what i see the big problem is..... WHY would our own partners try to disgrace our company? A company that goes above and beyond what most companies out there do for their employees....do you feel your health insurance is not enough, or maybe your flexability in hours,or even the most relaxed dress code i know of......and last but not least... How about your ability to be who you are everyday when you go to work! i ask you, do you feel good about your attempt to digrace us .......10,000 plus and strong! WE VALUE OUR COMPANY ! And i a m sure you could have found a better way to discuss your findings! ARE YOU A SUPERSTAR ,

[Esme]

Keep drinking the kool-aid, Tw! I don't know why people are so worried about this, since there are far worse chemicals you are being exposed to on a daily basis. Priorities, people!

[Sell Used Cell Phones]

What is with vegans? If I'm not mistaken, Starbucks uses milk which means it's dairy and not vegan in the first place.

[Samantha]

I personally do not order the Fraps because they are terribly unhealthy for anyone to drink, vegan or not. I being a vegetarian get the fact that vegans can be quite disturbed with this knowledge of the beetle wing extracts but lets face it, if you never knew before and drank it...why all the sudden uproar? Just get over it, you can either pretend like you never knew, or just stop drinking it - problem solved!
On the other hand...Starbucks really needs to stop charging an extra 60 cents for soy milk instead of regular...sorry my stomach cannot handle regular dairy. Why should a dietary restriction cost me more? My $5.40 coffee just turned into a $6.20 coffee like thats bizarre! Starbucks needs to really think about their customers because that really turns me and a lot of other people I know off from buying coffee at all.

[Crema]

@Samantha, OK, sounds good. We'll just charge everybody 6.20 and that way it'll be "fair." ok?

[duh]

get a gift card, register it.. use it.. soy will be free...

[Boggled at how disconnected people are with prices, etc. sometimes]

It's pretty simple Samantha. The average price for a gallon of milk is 3.25, the average price for a gallon of soy milk is 6.00. Starbucks is actually cutting you a break because they aren't profiting from switching to soy.

I'm not even sure why this is confusing or needs to be asked. Next up kids, "why does sugar free candy cost more than candy with sugar?"

[Harliza]

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[Cyndi]

It's November 2012, and I just read this. Thank you to everyone for letting me know some of the ingredients in Starbucks drinks. I am not a vegan, but I have a terrible time with dairy. I ordered a Caramel Macchiato yesterday with soy and didn't even think about the caramel having dairy in it. Dumb on my part. Today I'm paying for it. Thanks for letting me know so I'll be more careful next time.