I was watching Food Detectives on Food Network the other day, and they covered where natural food colorings come from.  Although I was surprised to find out that the color orange is beta carotine which is harvested from algae, nothing took me back more than finding our the bright red color in many or our foods come from an insect called Cochineal, which “produces carminic acid which deters predation by other insects. Carminic acid can be extracted from the insect's body and eggs to make carmine dye (also known as cochineal). Carmine is primarily used as a food coloring and for cosmetics.” according to Wikipedia. Enjoy your meal.