BRB, vomiting.
By Christine Schoenwald — Written on May 08, 2020
Are you a big fan of gummy candy? Could you eat gummy bears, gummy worms, and even gummy hamburgers all day long?
Gummy candy is fun and it may seem like an innocent enough treat.
So, why did so many people get turned off after seeing the short film about how the candy is made by Belgian filmmaker, Alina Kneepkens?
The video in question, which was made a few years ago, shows, in stomach-turning detail, the way that gummy candies are made.
Kneepkens shows us the process in reverse, starting with the seemingly innocuous candy before revealing its astonishingly gory beginnings.
How do you make gummy candy?
If you're okay with dead animals and their parts, here's the video. Warning: it's definitely not for the faint of heart:
"I got the assignment to direct some reversed audiovisual stories showing the production of some of our food," Kneepkens said on her website. "I saw quite a few slaughterhouses and examples of both industrial and artisan food production. A true eye-opener."
So, it turns out that the way most gum-based candy, like gummy candy and jelly sweets, are made is pretty revolting. The ingredient that gives gummy candy their signature chewiness is gelatin.
And gelatin is made from animal by-products. It's described as such:
"Gelatin can be made from many different sources of collagen. Cattle bones, hides, pigskins, and fish are the principle commercial sources. As such, it may come from either agricultural or non-agricultural sources."
Yuck. That's more than enough to make one consider never even so much as looking at another gummy candy for the rest of their life.
"Only a few people know they're [gummy candy] made of gelatin from the skin of pigs," Kneepkens writes. "Sweet?"
The film has a lot of shots of animal parts and slaughtered animals, and when you see that this is what the candy is made out of, it's really quite enough to put you off to it for life.
When I was a child, I fainted in front of an Irish butcher shop because I saw a butcher put a side of beef on a hook in the window and wipe the blood off on his apron.
In other words, I can't handle this kind of thing and couldn't get through the entire video. Neither could two of my friends.
Luckily, there are vegan gelatin substitutes like agar, which is obtained from algae. In fact, a trendy dessert known as the raindrop cake, is made with agar.
If the secret of gelatin is getting you down, now might be the time to rediscover all the wonders of a far superior treat - chocolate.
Chocolate has many benefits. It not only improves your brain function, but it doesn't involve the skin and bones of animals. Chocolate is good. Gummy frogs, gummy rats, and gummy Smurfs? Not so much.
Christine Schoenwald is a writer and performer. She's had articles in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Woman's Day. Visit her website or and her Instagram.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on September 4, 2016 and was updated with the latest information.