Todd:
> less feasible,
>where I live, for turmeric and cumin.  At least, I haven't found
>a source for these.
I probably wouldn't go that far if I didn't have to, either.  Whole cumin
seed should be available in Hispanic groceries, or where a larger store
has a decent Hispanic section.  Have also found them in Middle Eastern
groceries.  I find them packaged in 1/2 oz or so packages pretty
routinely around the NW US.  Turmeric is one I'm working on.  I've gotten
it whole from a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) dispensary via my TCM
practitioner, but that's hardly an economic or convenient source for
cooking purposes.

Beta-carotene is often used to color butter. They also often use
"annatto" coloring. True annatto is some kind of plant material like a
seed, but the term "annatto coloring" can also be used to describe a
grain-derived manufactured substitute.  Regardless of which of these, or
other substances for this purpose,  are used in butter, they don't have
to be labeled.