- Cochineals are parasites that are living on cactuses, and the acid in their guts has been applied as purple dye for millennia.
- These days, cochineals are utilized to dye cosmetics and food items like M&Ms and Yoplait strawberry yogurt.
- But up towards artificial dyes, Mexican cochineal farms are dying off, using the historic tradition with them.
Cochineals are very small bugs that dwell on prickly pear cactuses. The acid in their guts tends to make a pink dye used in textiles, cosmetics, and meals like M&Ms and Yoplait yogurt. Indigenous persons across Latin The usa traded it for thousands of years. It can be discovered on the walls of archeological sites, in priceless paintings, and in the robes of kings. But these days, Peru dominates the market, and Mexico’s cochineal farms are disappearing.
- Cochineals are parasites that are living on cactuses, and the acid in their guts has been applied as purple dye for millennia.
- These days, cochineals are utilized to dye cosmetics and food items like M&Ms and Yoplait strawberry yogurt.
- But up towards artificial dyes, Mexican cochineal farms are dying off, using the historic tradition with them.
Cochineals are very small bugs that dwell on prickly pear cactuses. The acid in their guts tends to make a pink dye used in textiles, cosmetics, and meals like M&Ms and Yoplait yogurt. Indigenous persons across Latin The usa traded it for thousands of years. It can be discovered on the walls of archeological sites, in priceless paintings, and in the robes of kings. But these days, Peru dominates the market, and Mexico’s cochineal farms are disappearing.