sources for agar agar? for hornworm recipe.

[Mark B]

has anyone found any good cheap sources for agar agar it can be pretty expensive and im making bulk amounts of hornworm food.

 

[tkilgour]

How many lbs. do you need? Also, is organic powder okay? Agar Agar or ( Gelidiella acerosa) powder is kind of expensive no matter what, but I may be able to help you.

 

[Mark B]

i was looking for maybe just a couple pounds for now

 

[Mark B]

i perfer the agar powder

 

[tkilgour]

Yeah, it is expensive just about everywhere. I think the cheapest you can buy a lb. for is $49.00. If you want Organic Agar Agar powder it is probably $70.00 per lb.

 

[joemacchirella]

Yeah, it is expensive just about everywhere. I think the cheapest you can buy a lb. for is $49.00. If you want Organic Agar Agar powder it is probably $70.00 per lb.

so to me even with shipping it seems alot cheaper to buy the chow from someone online? unless maybe you plan on selling the chow yourself or have a superlarge breeding project.

 

[Mark B]

well agar agar can be substituted with something else such as carrageenan but that will be my next plan

 

[tkilgour]

IMO opinion Agar Agar is a much better choice. I would avoid the carrageenan and stick with the agar agar. Carrageenan has had a free pass by most in the health community. For the most part, small quantities are safe. However, there is a lot of research out now with direct correlations to different types of cancer and acute-inflammatory responses. If you type "carrageenan" in to google scholar you will find little of it as a food additive and tons of research that points to all the negatives. Now many vegans and people in the health community are starting to think differently off the polysaccharide that’s derived from red seaweed.

 

[Mark B]

good research, i think ill have to take on this agar issue and find a supplier who will do bulk quantities because really i dont use much of it in my recipe.

 

[Mark B]

good research, i think ill have to take on this agar issue and find a supplier who will do bulk quantities because really i dont use much of it in my recipe problem is finding a good U.S source other than chinese sources

 

[tkilgour]

Yeah, I would avoid stuff like this coming from China and I do not need to explain why. I also tend to buy certified organic because who knows what kinds of chemicals were used on non-organic products.