Because of course it is…

    • @reddig33@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      A lot of gum base is made from plastic. Below are some more sources.

      • polyethylene
      • vinyl acetate

      These ingredients are hidden behind “trade secrets” so they aren’t listed on the wrapper.

      The irony about asking if gum could be made from a plant source — what do you think it was made from originally? I’d much rather chew on chickle than something that’s going to deposit petroleum-based microplastics in my gut. I get enough of that from food packaging already. “Natural” gum bases still exist and if you Google around you can find lists of chewing gums that still use them.

      https://www.greenmemag.com/health-nutrition/microplastics-found-in-popular-sugar-free-gum-brands-swiss-study-reveals/

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gum_base&wprov=rarw1

      https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723063878

      • @woop_woop@lemmy.world
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        226 days ago

        Your first link is about micro plastics, and they even say not all brands have them. So if a product is made of plastic and doesn’t always contain micro plastics (which are found in the air and water and soil and foods), then…polymers might not actually be plastics sometimes. Or in gum, many times.

        • @pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          115 days ago

          Random person who took a material science course in college here, polymers like polyethylene are constructed from their component monomers in chemical reactions. Not all monomers end up in a polymer chain, and some remain trapped in the material. These are what leeches out of the plastic over time. Better manufacturing processes have cut down a lot on this over time but it’s not something that can be eliminated entirely. These are also referred to as micro plastics sometimes, and sometimes not–it depends on the knowledge of the person speaking and whether or not it suits their point. Anyways, there’s your not so fun fact for the day.

    • @Daze@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      136 days ago

      Like another response stated, the big concern to me was the ambiguity that companies are allowed to have behind “gum base” as an ingredient, and this article dove into that more than others I could find on short notice.

      I have no buy-in to the source, so please downvote and report to remove it for infactual information! I will leave it here to foster thoughts and discussion around unusual sources of unexpected materials we may unwittingly put into our bodies.

      I’ll admit lately I get more than freaked out anytime I hear about potential microplastics getting into my system orally. It would be a relief to know this is a false alarm, though I’ll still personally be looking into alternatives instead of grabbing whatever off the checkout lane next time.

      • subignition
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        116 days ago

        It’s largely not worth freaking out over, in the sense that they are ubiquitous enough that it’s impossible to meaningfully avoid. By all means reduce your exposure if you can do so without great inconvenience, but we are all collectively inundated with the stuff and just have to wait for science to figure out what effects (if any) it will have. “Only worry about what you can control” and all that.

        • granolabar
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          46 days ago

          It is 100% discretionary product. People can just stop buying it and deny corporate revenue

    • Theo
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      96 days ago

      Rubber and plasticizers but the idea is an oil based product.

  • Flying Squid
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    336 days ago

    Before that was the case, chewing gum as we know it today came from the sap of the chicle tree. It was chewed without much processing by indigenous people in mesoamerica, but it was (of all people) former Mexican general Santa Ana who brought the concept to the U.S. when he emigrated to New York- yes, he decided after fighting against the U.S., it might be a good place to live- and a partner helped him to develop it into chewing gum.

  • Codex
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    125 days ago

    Chicle isn’t the only natural chewable by the way. Many resins can be jawed on for a while, I’m very fond of chewing mastic resin. Mastic comes from Greece, and has a piney taste when you’ve chewed it for a while.

  • lurch (he/him)
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    6 days ago

    True Gum is explicitly marketed for not containing plastic, but IMO it loses flavor much quicker. Still, it’s worth trying. Maybe it’s okay for you.

    • @Daze@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      23 days ago

      Thank you for the link! Will definitely check them out. The last 2 days have been so frustrating because I basically depend on gum to distract my AuDHD brain enough to get through difficult social interaction outside of the house. Had to stop myself more than once from finishing off the trident in my purse.

  • Theo
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    136 days ago

    I wanna try the original chicle types of gum that they made in ancient times

  • miss phant
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    56 days ago

    I guess there was some truth to it staying in your stomach for 7 years…

  • THCDenton
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    16 days ago

    I can’t chew gum without swallowing. It just does not compute. I don’t chew it anymore.

      • @NineMileTower@lemmy.world
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        55 days ago

        He’s a 2400 year old Wizard of the 12th Realm of Ephysiyies, Master of Light and Shadow, Manipulator of Magical Delights, Devourer of Chaos, Champion of the Great Halls of Terr’akkas. The elves know him as Fi’ang Yalok. The dwarfs know him as Zoenen Hoogstandjes. And he is also known in the Northeast as Gaismunēnas Meistar.

      • THCDenton
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        46 days ago

        Oh come on you don’t have any weird hiccups like that?

        • @Daze@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          23 days ago

          I understand where you’re coming from! OCD tendencies can spawn myriad little habits like that that can be near impossible to kick. Kudos to you for understanding your own limitations

  • Onno (VK6FLAB)
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    16 days ago

    There are several YouTube videos around that will stop you from ever putting any chewing gum into your mouth, not to mention the trove of videos showing just how processed food is made in bulk.

  • @MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml
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    -35 days ago

    I’ve hadn’t had any chewing gum since at least 15 years. Cook yourself, eat healthy and you don’t even get the urge to try that stuff at the checkout.