So, my organic chemistry class was doing a lab on chromatography (with spinach and some other dyes). We had to do a little 'research' beforehand about tartrazine and other food colorants, and...

I had no idea they were derived from coal tar!  :o Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1...  :-\  Gross. And with questionable health effects. I knew that there was something off about them, but I didn't know what. At least they're vegan... I guess.

And the other day I was looking for some black food coloring for my halloween cookies, and there was Red #3: erythrosine. I haven't been able to find any answers, but by the sound of the name this is the food coloring that infamously comes from blood (erythrocyte = red blood cell). Does anyone know? ... I settled for purple gel.

And, I hate I hate I hate finding carmine in things. It's in the otherwise-vegan English Skittles. And in any red-like Sobe drinks. And probably in other untold amounts of food. Source: bugs.

Does anyone have natural food colorings out there? Are they just as good as the tar ones? Less concentrated, color is different, etc?