There are alternatives to gelatin

Anona,
I know the idea of eating bugs is off putting, but if everybody was to think deep about the content of their food, everyone would starve. Nobody picks the bugs out of corn or wheat, and nobody pays it a thought, but it still has bug eggs in.
Get a bag of flour and tip it into a glass container, and leave it.Don't open it, and don't shake the contents up. After some time(a month or so) you will see little black bugs crawling around in it.
I know a man who works in a hard boiled sweet factory. Rotten fruits go in along with the good fruits.
Fish have to go through a uv light to show up the worms that they contain, and they only get picked out if noticed.(they look like mini polo's with a thin skin over them).
Who want's a fish finger butty ?(chunder) lol.

Been there,
I didn’t know about the safety aspect of using cochineal but I think even meat eaters would draw the line at eating crushed insects if they were aware of what E120 is. I have seen it as an ingredient in common products like Mr Kipling cakes and many sweets, even on a box of confectionery labelled “suitable for vegetarians” in a mail order catalogue.

Apart from cochineal and E120 it is also sometimes labelled as carminic acid or carmine so vegetarians need to look out for all of those.

Anona,
I owe you an apology, as it appears you are correct.
Although, in the paste form is banned, as the amount used can't be regulated.
It is less likely to cause anaphylactic shock in smaller regulated amounts, but is still possible, and in some people can be fatal as we know, which is a greater reason to avoid it.
The reason why it is still allowed to be used when there are less risky alternatives beats me.
I thought it was totally banned.

Been there, in Britain cochineal/E120 is still used in manufactured foods as a red or pink colouring . I don't know about other countries.

Anona,
The cochineal food colouring made from the female cochineal beetles was used in the past, but for many years now has been banned for use in food..Only the artificial colour is used which is E122 but now known as carmoisine and is suitable for vegetarians.The colour is more crimson(shocking pink) than red.
I work with food colour pastes in my business, so am up to date with the banning of food colours.

Apart from gelatine, vegetarians also need to be aware that many sweets and cakes contain the natural red food colouring cochineal, (often on food labels as E120 ) which is made from crushed insects!

(This is not a wind up!)

I too am a veggie and really miss marshmallows, BUT have just found a website selling veggie and vegan versions:- Scrumptious Sweets, also Sweetie World do a range of veggie sweets.

Enraged:- The world is in the state it is in because of people like you, narrow minded bigots only seeing the world through blinkers, and can't think for themselves. Before you judge someone spend a day in their shoes!

Thanks this has been helpful, as I am a young veggie I didnt really know about gelatin subs so thanks :)

Enraged: You're a tw*t. If someone chooses not to eat meat then that's their choice, not yours! And what's with the question mark after "it makes you sick", please explain? How is it not completely obvious? Have you SEEN "kill it, cook it, eat it", or any similar programmes? It's DISGUSTING, and while I do not try to force people to become a vegetarian, I think it's highly SELFISH to eat meat. People like you make me sick, so shut the f*ck up, you PATHETIC excuse for a human being. Thank you.

im sure that if a new VEGEGTARIAN compay manufactured vegetarian sweets, foods, and gelatine, im a veggie and its very hard to find suitable sweets, anyone that kills animals and eats them is out of their mind, VEGGYS rule

rori what the hell :/ seriusly how is it selfish or stupid?

we chose not to eat defensless animals whu have to die for SELFISH! human consumption!!
animals are slaughtered in the most groosom ways imaginable.

shows we have hearts unlike some :/

Enraged

Please explain how being a vegetarian is stupid and selfish?