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Gelatin comes from where!!?

It’s one of those truths that you’d rather not know. That bright red, orange, and green gelatin you slurped down as a child is actually made from animals. Vegans avoid it like the plague because it’s derived from the collagen in an animal’s skin and bones. But what if it was made from humans? How do you categorize it then?

According to a story on Inhabitat, scientists are experimenting on ways to derive gelatin from humans and their research will be appearing in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.

The process the researchers perfected actually involves taking human gelatin genes and inserting them into a strain of yeast. With their technology they were able to grow gelatin with controllable features.

Though I’d be interested to know where the genes are derived. According to Science Daily, not only would this prevent the use of gelatin made from innumerable animals, it would also eliminate the risk of Mad Cow disease in addition to creating a predictable source of gelatin. Working with animal based gelatin is at times unpredictable because you don’t know how the end product will turn out.

Human-based gelatins are actually being studied for use in drug capsules and other medical applications for the most part, though marshmallows and neon gelatin molds are what I initially envisioned.

This is right up there with meat substitutes made from poop. I’m not sure how you categorize it either. It’s not plant-based but it’s not animal-based either. Or maybe it is animal-based depending on where you place humans. But don’t worry, you’re not eating your neighbor here.

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