> note that chewing gum is that preparation of chicle (which is itself made from latex, yuck). The definition also didn't say "food", but "plastic material" and "preparation". Plus, it's latex! Do any of you eat rubber gloves and balloons?

Er, if i drink water in a glass, microscopic pieces of glass into my system, as well as water. Beethoven was killed by gradual lead poisoning from consuming alcohol from lead-lined bottles for years. His deafness was one symptom of this systems-wide condition, which concluded with gross stuff like enlarged organs and such. There are worse things to ingest than parts of trees.