eating locusts

We were doing science while having breakfast.  I asked the kids to read the ingredients on the smoothie they were drinking.  (Normally I make my own smoothies, but I had a free coupon for this one).  It was normal stuff I'd heard of before, until Noah said, "...locust bean gum, ...."  I said, "What?! Locusts?"  I read it for myself, and sure enough, that's what it said.  We stopped drinking and went to research it.  We found out that it is made from the seeds of the carob tree and used as a thickener.  Locust is just another name for the carob tree. Why wouldn't they just call it carob bean gum?!  I would feel a lot better about that.

Then we moved on to a geography lesson, because we learned that the carob tree grows in the Mediterranean region.  Noah located that on the map and noticed it was near Israel, so now we're wondering if John the Baptist really ate bugs or just carob?