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Turns out, the scent of beaver is not only pleasant but downright wonderful, wildlife ecologist Joanne Crawford told National Geographic in October.

"I lift up the animal's tail and I'm like, 'Get down there, and stick your nose near its bum,' " she said, adding, "People think I'm nuts. I tell them, 'Oh, but it's beavers; it smells really good.' "

Starbucks' use of crushed beetles in food coloring for its frappuccino products—which it had labeled vegan—is merely the tip of the iceberg.

The cochineal beetle, often used in red food dyes, is one of many disgusting ingredients found in everyday foods.

Vanilla and raspberry flavors might be enhanced by "castoreum," a mixture of the anal secretions and urine of beavers. It's also found in perfume.

The FDA-approved product is categorized under "natural flavoring," so you won't know if you're eating it.

And it’s been used as a flavoring ingredient in foods for at least 80 years as a replacement for vanilla and in some fruit flavorings such as strawberry and raspberry. There is even a castoreum liquor enjoyed by the Swedes that you can make for yourself here.

Castoreum is used primarily in fragrances these days, much like musks are used. Musk, like castoreum to beavers, is extracted from a gland near a deer’s penis, and adds depth and warmth to a fragrance — giving it a sweet, leathery molasses evocation.