You've seen people on television shows eating insects on a dare, but did you ever consider you might be eating them yourself voluntarily?
The cochineal insect that lives on cacti is farmed and used as a food coloring, as well as a cosmetic and sometimes clothing dye.
They're farmed on a nopalry or cactus farm. Zapotec baskets are placed on the cacti to act as tiny homes for the insects. It's estimated that each person eats about one or two drops of cochineal or carmine dye each year. At least we never know it!
