This is a guest post from Vani Hari (a.k.a. The Food Babe) and New York Times Best Selling author. You can read more about her take on the food industry in her second book, Feeding You Lies!
Thoughts of outrage, unfairness, disbelief, and ultimately grief consumed me while I was doing this investigation. A list of ingredients that are banned across the globe but still allowed for use here in the American food supply recently made news.
While I have written about some of those ingredients before, this list inspired me to look a little deeper and find out how pervasive this issue is for us. Could these banned ingredients be contributing to the higher mortality and disease rates here in the U.S.?
The health of Americans is downright grim according to a report just released by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council. It declares "Americans are sicker and die younger than other people in wealthy nations." The United States spends 2.5 times more on health care than any other nation, however, when compared with 16 other nations we come in dead last in terms of health and life expectancy for men and near the bottom for women.
Here is the breakdown for you:
- More than two thirds of United States citizens are overweight – 33% being obese.
- 32% of children are either obese or overweight.
- 43% of Americans are projected to be obese in 10 years.
- After smoking, obesity is America’s biggest cause of premature death and is linked to 70% of heart disease and 80% of diabetes cases.
- And 41% of Americans are projected to get cancer in their lifetime!
These reports and statistics scream the word HELP!
Recently, I spent some time down in Mississippi volunteering in the most obese county in the nation. I found that while social and economic factors do play a part in this epidemic, the main culprit was the lack of nutrition education.
The victims of obesity are likely the same victims of systematic brainwashing from Big Food marketers, relying on diet soda or low fat products or looking only at calories on product labels. Basically, they are doing what the food industry has been teaching them about losing weight versus finding out the truth about real food.
And that's the problem - the food industry is the one leading our conversation in this country about food and nutrition, educating the mass public about what to eat and what not to eat. Coca-Cola recently even went as far as creating a special campaign to combat obesity - yes you read that right - a sugar filled soda company trying to stop obesity. (You can read my reaction to that here).
Unfortunately, the doctors in this country are not exactly leading the discussion either, since nutrition is not currently a focus in medical school. And the government has their hands tied by big food industry and chemical company lobbyists that basically control what the FDA approves, deems safe for human consumption, and our overall food policy.
So who is going to finally tell us the truth about our food?
The food industry does not want us to pay attention to the ingredients nor do they care about the negative effects from eating them. They certainly don't care about the astronomical medical bills that are a direct result of us eating the inferior food they are creating.
The HELP we need starts here. We as a collective nation must stop this trajectory of sickness and rising health care costs, by understanding the ingredients we are putting into our bodies. We must challenge the U.S. food industry to discontinue the use of banned ingredients that are not allowed elsewhere in the world. We deserve to have the same quality food without potential toxins.
Food is medicine, and plain and simple, if our food is sick (filled with GMO’s, chemicals, additives, artificial ingredients, and/or carcinogens), collectively we as a country are going to continue to be sick.
Using banned ingredients that other countries have determined unsafe for human consumption has become a pandemic in this country. To prove this point, I found the best and easiest place to look for evidence was just across "the pond" in the United Kingdom, where they enjoy some of the same types of products we do - but with totally different ingredient lists.
It is appalling to witness the examples I am about to share with you. The U.S. food corporations are unnecessarily feeding us chemicals - while leaving out almost all questionable ingredients in our friends' products overseas. The point is the food industry has already formulated safer, better products, but they are voluntarily only selling inferior versions of these products here in America. The evidence of this runs the gamut from fast food places to boxed cake mix to cereal to candy and even oatmeal - you can't escape it.
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Some of the key American brands that are participating in this deception are McDonald's, Pringles (owned by Kellogg's), Pizza Hut and Quaker (owned by Pepsi), Betty Crocker (owned by General Mills), Starburst (owned by M&M/Mars), and Ritz Crackers (owned by Kraft). In the examples below, red text indicates potentially harmful ingredients and/or ingredients likely to contain GMOs.
Having a pre-made box of flour, baking soda and sugar all ready to go saves time for some people when it comes to making a cake, but does saving time have to come at the expense of chemically derived and potentially toxic ingredients?
The United States version of Betty Crocker Red Velvet cake not only has artificial colors linked to hyperactivity in children, food cravings, and obesity, but it also has partially hydrogenated oils (a.k.a. trans fat). Trans fat has been shown to be deadly even in small amounts. “Previous trials have linked even a 40-calorie-per-day increase in trans fat intake to a 23% higher risk of heart disease.” This could easily be the amount of trans fat in one serving of Betty Crocker icing alone.
Sodium benzoate is an ingredient that Coca-Cola actually removed in their Diet Coke product overseas, but you'll still find it in their product Sprite, cake mixes and loads of other products across the USA. The Mayo Clinic reported that this preservative increases hyperactivity in children. Also, when sodium benzoate combines with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), it can form benzene, a carcinogen that damages DNA in cells and accelerates aging.
Fast Food giants like McDonald's and Pizza Hut are just as guilty as General Mills' Betty Crocker.
Look closely at the ingredients in McDonald's french fries above. Do you see how the french fries in the U.K. version are basically just potatoes, vegetable oil, a little sugar and salt? How can McDonald's make french fries with such an uncomplicated list of ingredients all over Europe, but not over here?
Why do McDonald's french fries in the U.S. have to have TBHQ, trans fat and "anti-foaming" agents? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last time I checked - I didn't think Americans liked foam with their fries either!
The anti-foaming agent - dimethylpolysiloxane - is a type of silicone used in caulks and sealants and as a filler for breast implants. It's also the key ingredient in silly putty.
Thanks FDA for allowing companies to put silly putty in our french fries. Seriously - this is out of control.
McDonalds Strawberry Sauce in the United States includes high fructose corn syrup, red #40 and sodium benzoate, while the citizens of the U.K. get off scot-free. Instead, they get 37% real strawberries in their product and no additional flavoring or harmful preservatives.
Pizza Hut does a huge disservice to us (and their workers) by using Azodicarbonamide in their garlic cheese bread. This ingredient is banned as a food additive in the U.K., Europe, and Australia, and if you get caught using it in Singapore you can get up to 15 years in prison and be fined $450,000.
The U.K. has recognized this ingredient as a potential cause of asthma if inhaled, and advises against its use in people who have sensitivity to food dye allergies and other common allergies in food, because azodicarbonamide can exacerbate the symptoms.
However, Pizza Hut and many other fast food chains like Subway and Starbucks use this ingredient in their U.S. bread products.
Natural and artificial flavors and hidden MSG (in the form of autolyzed yeast extract, in this case) are commonly found throughout products in America but not elsewhere. Junk food companies intentionally add this combination of ingredients to create sensory overload by exciting your brain cells to remember the food you are eating and make less nutritious ingredients taste better to you.
I'm not saying that the food industry has completely eliminated these same tricks abroad - but when you look at the U.K. version of garlic cheese bread, the ingredients look pretty basic. Many of the ingredients you could use at home to make garlic bread. I've never found TBHQ in the baking aisle at the grocery store, have you?
TBHQ, by the way, is a preservative derived from petroleum and used in perfumes, resins, varnishes and oil field chemicals. Laboratory studies have linked TBHQ to stomach tumors. This preservative is also used by Chick-Fil-A in their famous chicken sandwiches.
Reviewing the ingredients in Pringles really got me worked up....ever wonder why you can't stop eating chips after having just one? MSG is the culprit - and in the U.S. version of Pringles, it's added twice! Once in its known name and again in a hidden source, called "yeast extract."
This begs the question "Why are Americans so addicted to processed food?!" The food industry has designed it that way on purpose to line their pockets with profits, at the expense of our health.
The U.K. Ritz Crackers ingredient list resembles items that you'd find in every household around the country - but the United States version goes the extra mile to include trans fat, HFCS and natural flavor. Natural flavor can be also be a hidden form of MSG, which, again, is an additive that will likely make you eat more than you would otherwise.
In the United States, Quaker Oats has several different flavors of oatmeal that contain different fruit flavored, artificially dyed pieces of dehydrated apple but that don't actually contain any of the fruit shown on the package. But in the U.K. - they don't even attempt to sell that garbage. They instead have a product called "Oats so Simple" that actually has REAL strawberries in it - light years ahead of our version that includes trans fat, artificial food coloring, and artificial flavors.
There's only one difference in Rice Krispies between the U.S. and U.K. version - but it's a big difference. It's one ingredient that is banned virtually in every other country, except here in the United States. That ingredient is called BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) or BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and is a very common preservative used rampantly throughout packaged food in the U.S.
Test studies published by the IPCS (International Program for Chemical Safety) "show tissue inflammation, enlargement, and/or growths in 100%, and cancer in 35% of [animal] subjects" as reported in this article. How can the U.S. allow this chemical in our food - much less in cereal aimed and targeted at our kids?
And speaking of targeting our kids - food companies have found a way to naturally color candy all over Europe, but our candy here is still full of artificial substances made from petroleum and GMO sugar. Looking at the ingredients in Starburst Fruit Chews provides a great example of this disgrace.
I saved the most startling fact for last. One very cautionary set of ingredients that are included in almost all of the American products but not the U.K. products are GMO's, in the form of either corn or soy.
There have been no long term human studies on GMOs and preliminary studies on animals show horrific consequences. For instance, a study showed GMOs caused toxic and allergic reactions, sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals.
Another study revealed that female rats fed GMO soy for 15 months showed significant health issues in their uterus and reproductive cycle, compared to rats fed organic soy or those raised without soy. A 2009 French Study concluded that Glyphosate (used on GMO soy) can kill the cells in the outer layer of the human placenta, the organ that connects the mother to her fetus, providing nutrients and oxygen and emptying waste products.
A Russian study conducted on hamsters that were fed GMO soy diets for two years over three generations found that by the third generation, most of the hamsters lost the ability to have babies, showed slower growth, and suffered a higher mortality rate.
In the U.K. food companies are required by law to list if a certain ingredient is derived from a genetically modified or genetically engineered material on the label. Out of all the products I researched, I couldn't find one product with this label. (See example from GMO-Compass and BBC above of what it would look like if I did.)
This was very telling considering that not only have food companies taken out all sorts of hazardous chemical ingredients abroad - but they also have willingly reformulated their products without GMOs.
Food corporations in the U.S. claim reformulating their products to remove harmful ingredients or changing labels would be too expensive - but they've already done just that in Europe and in many other countries. Their governments listened to the outrage of their people and took the safety of their citizens' health above everything else.
Is it too much to ask the same for us in the United States of America? How much do our sickness, obesity, and mortality rates have to worsen before they respond to us?
I will leave you with this note: Lisa and I are very disturbed about the shameful hypocrisy allowed to happen with our food supply here in the U.S. In fact we are feeling very compelled to do something about it. Stay tuned, because we are going to need every one of you to help when we are ready. In the meantime, I hope you'll come check me out at Food Babe and also share this article (you can use the green ShareThis button below).
March 5th Update: Lisa and I have started a petition - please sign and share it now. Together we can make a change.
Comments have been closed on this article, which was written by Vani Hari. If you have a question or comment you can reach her at http://FoodBabe.com.
Donna Merrill says
You did your homework and it is great that you have posted this.
I live in the U.S. and had to actually move to be around local farms so I can obtain real food.
I haven't eaten anything from a box or can for years. I can purchase local organic products, and when going to the grocery store, I just go in my little section and have no idea what those things in boxes are all about.
What worries me is that there are too many people here in the U.S. that never read a label. And what is worse...we don't have GMO labels in the states.
That being said, it makes me wonder when a mom tells me her kids are getting "stomach viruses" OK...I won't write a book, but I must say BRAVO!
Donna Merrill
Robin says
That's a VERY interesting article. However, I wonder how much of the UK ingredients just get re-labeled to sound better. Like the Glucose Syrup instead of Corn Syrup. It's basically the same thing with a different name. Or maybe I just really don't trust the food industry.
Lauren says
Oh my word...WHY DOESN'T OUR COUNTRY CARE ABOUT OUR WELL BEING!!???
(i'm probably naive)
Thank you SO much for posting this!! I'm going to whole foods from now on. I don't care how much it costs. I'm going to read your blog from now on! You've got yourself a new fan!
Thank you for all your hard work! God Bless!
Amy says
I live in Europe right now and I can tell you their food is light years healthier and more natural. But, it costs a tremendous amount more for the most part and their taxes are way higher....you have to pay to play, but your health is worth it. Would Americans really accept the higher cost of food? Sadly, I don't think so...not in this welfare state we have created....
Dead Prez says
Let your food be your medicine no excedirine. Stricly herb generate from the sun, because I got melanin... and drink water, eight glasses a day... cuz that's what they say...
Karla Newport says
Thank you for all your hard work. I am speechless at what I just read. I think our government is so greedy and uncaring. I would hate to be in there shoes one day when they have to answer for how they treated people. I wish there was something I could do, like sign a petition or anything. Again thanks for helping us to know a little more about how corrupt our government and the people in high places are.
Wendy says
Count me in
Jenni says
So furious. Count me in to help out with anything you come up with!
Gina says
Please note that high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup is labeled as "glucose syrup" in the UK, and is included in some of the labels compared above.
Jason Leake with 100 Days of Real Food says
Hi Gina - You are correct. The reason corn syrup is highlighted in red only on the US labels above is because it likely contains GMOs here (unlike in the UK).
Rebecca says
There are actually online grocery stores from Great Britain and other European countries that will ship shelf stable groceries to you in the US. That's where I get my favorite Paprika Pringles that not only taste better but are healthier for me than the stuff you can get in the US. You can also get cake mixes, flour and more without all the Genetically modified crud that you find here in the US. Shipping really isn't that bad and I'm seriously tempted to start doing more of that shopping if I can't find it organic or GMO free in the US. Honestly, some of the GMO free products here in the US don't always taste as good as the European versions that are GMO free. So sometimes I order from Britain, Russia, Germany or Italy.
Stacy says
I live in Europe and there is still pl-enty of cheap packaged foods to avoid. And there are some strange cultural issues to contend with, like the bizarre love if instant mashed potatoes where I am. They have a long ingredient list, and don't even taste good. But apparently people love them and think boiling a potato and mashing it is too much work. Anyway, we fight against packaged food even though the ingredients might be marginally less awful than in the US. If it's got E numbers, I try to avoid it.
Amy says
I share your outrage. It makes me tired as well. Seems like a huge battle. Do you think it can be won? In the meantime, I will do my part in sharing this article and continue to cook from scratch. Maybe some day people wont think I'm depriving my kids when I wont let them have Skittles.
What can we do to help change this?
@Beth: PLEASE check out "Autoimmune: the cause and the cure" by Brockley and Urdiales. It chronicles Anne Brockley's search for an effective treatment for her lupus, but applies to autoimmune diseases in general. It's a stunning eye-opener. Plus, she backs it all up with very thorough research. I found it on Amazon for around $30.
Maxine Cleminson says
Glucose-fructose syrup is for all intents and purposes the same as HFCS. Furthermore, it IS used in the UK and EU, although not to the same degree as it is in the US. The reason for this has nothing to do with European food manufacturers having healthier aspirations for the general population... it's more to do with production quotas put on the sugar industry in the EU in order to protect the interests of beet farmers in eastern Europe. Only 5% of the sugar produced in the EU is allowed to be processed into HFCS. Doubtless, if the EU allowed more HFCS to be produced, it would be in far more products... after all it is more concentrated, sweeter and therefore a cheaper ingredient than cane sugar.
I've just published a book for British Expats trying to figure their way around grocery stores in the USA and I've included a whole chapter on these sort of issues. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482305038?tag=amamawithidea-20
Very interesting article, thanks!
Food Babe says
Maxine - At least it isn't GMO in Europe! You have to admit - the amount of preservatives used in U.S. foods is pretty crazy.
Marje says
Jane I'm German and I can see your point. After I visited the US. I was appalled on how much coloring is put in food in the US, especially foods for kids! It's time people stand up and say no. Heck, there is even color in foods for pets! I though red 40 was banned, yet it was still everywhere. And yes, it's true some people are truly obsessed on how food looks. I had a lady in line one day returning a bag apples cause they weren't shiny and had a hole here and there. The bag was organic. I told her better a worm than all those nasty pesticides but she still couldn't get over them not being shiny as she expected:(
Jane says
I was raised in Italy where it seems like people are more conscientious on what they eat. After coming to the States, I blame the consumer for a good part too. I found it useless for a cereal company to have food coloring in it and sent them a complaint e-mail. Their answer? They told me that research indicates that Americans care about the appeal of the food they eat. Several surveys they conducted indicated the public prefers eating an appealing food even if it comes to adding artificial coloring. I was in Sweden and the fruit there lasts a day or two. Why? because they use no preservatives. Try to do that in the States. Consumers would like complaint and even threaten to sue the company! In Europe potatoes sprout after a week, in the US not, why? simple the potatoes are treated, perhaps cause people complained about it. And what's up with grapes and oranges with no seeds? Right, Americans don't like them. It's time for Americans to care less about looks, complain less over frivolous things and eat better. Just my 2 cents.
Barbara Escher says
It feels like we're all living in "Groundhog Day," experiencing the same thing over and over without learning very much. This situation should evoke memories of the days when "Big Tobacco" added substances to cigarettes that they knew perfectly well created and sustained addiction. Then lied about it. This is even more insidious since we can quit smoking but can't give up eating. If you want to get really nervous, read my daughter's book (Eden's Root by Rachel Fisher). Scared me witless!
brian says
Thanks Lisa for educating people. I've known about these petrochemical poisons they've been putting in our foods for years, and I've told friends & relatives about it - but most of them are Oh well what can we do? DUH!
FYI - Even though GB & 60+ other countries have GMO labeling, we, courtesy of the Fraudulent Drug Assassin Agency (more than 50% made up of DuPont, Dow, Monsanto execs)won't do the same.
Further, if you look at the ingredient in the GB items, many of them are questionable, ex: Titanium Dioxide is a hormone disruptor.
Sue says
Great article. Laundry detergents also have a lot of ingredients that are harmful. Have been using "Mollys Suds" which is pure, really like it.
Crystal says
Hi
Thank you so much for doing this research and helping to get this information out to the public. I'm new at all of this and just started learning all the scary stuff in our food. I've got a question about something that is on several of the UK labels. What exactly is Fructose-Glucose Syrup and Glucose Syrup? I tried to google it, but can't find anything except High glucose corn syrup and it seems this is not the same thing.
TIA for any information you can share!
Andrea says
I believe part of the problem is that food MARKETERS have convinced people that it is quicker to make something out of a box...IT IS NOT!
Our every-day dinners take no more than 15 or 20 minutes to prepare. Chicken or salmon in the oven or grill - 8 to 10 mins...fresh zuccini or broccoli, or whatever...steam or saute 5 min...salad...5 min. I marvel every evening at our fresh fare in less than 20. That does include fresh seasonings, lemon juice, butter, etc. BIGGEST BADDIE of all is bottled salad dressing. Again...a minute to make a jarful! Once you crawl out of those boxes, you will be amazed at how good real food tastes! (P.S. And I only shop once a week, if that.)
And Hummus...do you know how easy that is??? But I digress...
Stephanie LeDuc says
I agree with you. I steam veggies, bake or grill a lot, some crock pot especially in the winter. Salads through the summer, my family loves my green wraps and california wraps. Fun stuff.
jennyh says
I must say that I am shocked by the ingredigents in our foods today. I am also overwhelmed at the list of ingredients that I need to be aware of. Is there a list of ingredients that I can print off to take grocery shopping with me?
Jaclyn says
The general rule with food ingredients is if you do not know what it is when you read the label, you probably shouldn't eat it.
Nickie Knight says
This an excellent article, I will share immediately. I love how deep you went with the research. I just posted on Hipmomsgogreen Facebook this morning about a comment that I got from a mom recently, It went like this:
A Mom said to me about my boys, "I feel so bad for them...". This is not a first. This is in regards to them not being able to eat the food dye, corn syrup, GMO wheat "treat" that is available. I politely say, " oh there ok, they are used to it." Truth is, I do give in to the occasional "junk" (very little). But when I do, "I feel so bad for them..."
For FB this got my initial thought across but, it goes SO much deeper than this. A lot of the information that you posted above goes through my mind regularly, I teach my children these beliefs, and once you have the knowledge it seems impossible to ignore. I am so happy that we do what we do, educating, and changing lives. Maybe one day we will be the majority and TRUE change will have to come...
Nickie Knight
Founder HipMomsGoGreen
Jamie Mead says
Vani!!!
Thank you for your great article. I shared it and am appreciative of your article and all the time that went into the information. If enough of us vote for changes with our dollars eventually they will change! Blessings. . .
Lindsey says
Wow, I'm horrified! I would really like to eliminate all of this processed 'food' from our household but I really don't know where to start! I worry that it's too expensive to go the organic route, and how do you prepare quick and easy meals with all fresh ingredients? I REALLY want to try but it seems almost like a losing battle. We don't eat microwaveable meals, boxed mac and cheese or any of that junk but I would never have considered Rice Crispies bad for my kids health, maybe not super nutritious but better for you than some other cereals. I do buy frozen veggies, frozen stuffed pasta, spaghetti sauce and yogurts etc. I didn't think that was all that bad, but I can only imagine whats lurking in all that packaged stuff. It's very scary!
Any advice on how to go about eating better while on a budget, and as a full time working mommy I need some quick and easy ideas!
Susan says
Crock pots and start slow. I was a full time working mom shortly after the birth of my first daughter. It's not easy but it can be done. Pick one thing that you'll start doing. For example, if it's not financially feasible to throw out your existing food (I wouldn't either, btw. My Vietnamese mother would have a conniption!) then maybe you'll start just reading labels. Maybe you'll begin with eliminating HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). Once you've got that down then move to something else. It has taken us many years and it started very slowly. I made my own bread from scratch one afternoon and you'd of thought I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Baby steps :) Good luck.
Stephanie LeDuc says
Once you watch the movie Genetic Roulette, you would throw out all the GMO foods. We did, my best friend has leaky gut, she threw everything out. I love implementing Crock pots! I love making homemade chili on low all day in the crock!!
Stephanie LeDuc says
Hi. I experimented last fall with switching over to organic to see how it would impact my budget. I want to share with you one item in particular that I watched what the difference would be: Honey Nut Cheerios our whole family loved, the big family sized box would last about three days. I now buy an organic cocoa rice cereal-it's the only one so far my kids will eat-anyhow I'm looking at the price of this koala bag of cereal, $7.00. I stood there, hesitated on buying it, and after buying the one bag, it lasted a whole week. The reason behind this is when our foods are genetically messed with, the more processed it is, the less nutrition it has. If you have watched the movie Food Inc, please watch Genetic Roulette on Youtube. Try to involve as much of your family as you can. It explains in more detail the destruction of what's going on with our foods and our health. The first time I sat down to this movie, made it through ten min, then twenty, and so on. I have a three year old, makes it hard to do anything just for me. Napping right now-lucky me.
Stephanie LeDuc says
Lindsey, my reply was for you. Also, get on a Bountiful Baskets program. Pinterest has a lot of great recipes as well. My whole point was I find I'm spending exactly the same amount of money on groceries every month since November of 12. The Bountiful Baskets is from local farmers. Local organic veggies and fruits each week is $25 dollars. I encourage everyone to find a Bountiful Baskets program in your area. I save ten dollars a week by doing this program, non profit, and you get about $50 worth of food. Good luck, let us know how and what you've noticed. Watch that movie, Genetic Roulette.
Jen says
Can't wait to hear your best thoughts on how to effect change.. petition? The evidence is very compelling that things in the US need to change!
Nadia says
This is outrageous!! What can we do to make the government pay attention and change their policies? This reminds me of the big tobacco companies and the fight that so many people had to fight to make the government put warning labels on cigarettes and stop marketing to teens. We have a long battle ahead of us!
Jaclyn says
That's the problem... the government DOES pay attention, they just know that the citizens do not.
Phoebe says
I'm an American living in Ireland. It took me about a month to figure out why I couldn't find hormone-free milk - because there are no hormones in the milk here. I also noticed the lack of HFCS. I was talking to another American who had just moved here and she was saying that things tasted different, and she couldn't figure it out - I said "It's all less sweet." She said "That's it! But why?" I told her there was no HFCS in anything here. We also noticed food goes bad more quickly here - because there are less preservatives. We've gotten used to shopping a lot more, buying less. Heck, the grocery stores in Ireland are a LOT smaller than the standard US stores, because there is less variety.
At this point, if the EU has banned it, I won't be using it if we move back to the U.S.
Amanda says
Great Article! Thank you for doing so much research. Our family has stopped eating most processed food. There are very few things, from a package, that I will let my kids have. We are hoping that if enough families do this, the food companies will get the point. Everyone in my family is healthier, since cutting out processed food. We hardly ever get sick. Its amazing.
Karrie says
I am absolutely ready to help do something about this BS. Before I decide to just up and leave this country where the government so clearly doesn't care about it's people. Absolutely fed up.
Jason Leake says
The contents of this comment have been removed due to violation of our comment policy, which may be reviewed here https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/comment-policy/.
Susan says
We have left and will probably not return. And, this is not because we don't love America and don't miss our family but we have a better standard of living in Europe. We don't get sick as often. We feel a sense of security. It breaks my heart to read these things because it doesn't have to be this way and it takes outraged people like these activists who inform the public and wake them up to action. The people have to unite and demand that it be different. Demand to not be poisoned. Demand transparency from their government. Demand justice. It's what makes America great.
Mel Corrigan says
The fundamental problem is that many people choose to eat processed foods. A chicken or a vegetable (grown in any conventional circumstance) will always be healthier than something on of a box.
missusmc says
Interesting, isn't it, that many countries that have universal healthcare also have bans on carcinogens and GMOs in their food? I would say that's pretty much an admission that these additives will kill you. It will be interesting to see if maybe some of these ingredients will be banned as our nation moves to a more universal system. After all, what government wants to pay for something that could be prevented? It's sickening.
dale in denver says
That is EXACTLY the disconnect in the US.
Silvia says
After reading this article I started reading labels more closely. I discovered that my PRENATAL VITAMINS have two food coloring items in the ingredients (one of them is yellow 5). Yikes!
MIchelle says
The answer is easy. Stop eating this crap and they will stop selling it. Eat a whole foods diet; you and your families will feel amazing. Also, beware of "natural flavors" in the ingredient list. All manufactured in the lab.
Sarah says
Please become a lobbyist and use the system against them! You obviously have a wonderful grasp of the situation and how to effect change; why stop at blogging? You could help fix the root of the food problem!!
Food Babe says
Oh I'm definitely not stopping at blogging! Thank you Sarah for all your encouragement!
John says
Just as an fyi, with regards to the ingredient lists for the red velvet cake mix:
1) Propylene glycol (US) *is* Propane-1,2-dial (UK)
2) Cellulose gum (US) *is* carboxymethylcellulose (UK)
3) Corn starch appears on both lists, but is highlighted on the US one only.
Doesn't really change your point, but I thought you should know.
Food Babe says
John - Corn Starch is only highlighted in the US list because it is likely a GMO. As I explained at the end of the article, all of these products were formulated without GMOs in the UK.
John says
Whoops, missed that - my bad!
Sara says
I recently purged our home of foods that contained the horrible ingredients listed as well as others. It was hard since it was just about EVERYTHING in our cupboards and some in our fridge/freezer. Then I had to go shopping again and it was an expensive shopping trip because I now needed to replace everything, however now that I am shopping every week, it is easier and a lot less money! My family lives on a budget as my husband works to support us(I am a stay at home mom of 4). We have had to expand our budget for groceries, but the benefits FAR out-weigh the costs!
Shallon says
My Questions, what is the cost difference between food with vs without the added ingredients. I assume big food keeps in the chemicals because it is a cheeper way to make the food - thus more profits for them. We have to get people to value spending more on food (and less on other consumerism)as a part of an effective strategy of change.
Food Babe says
There was not a big price difference in any of the products. I actually found some of it cheaper in the U.K. - like the Pringles.
Shallon says
Huh!?!
That surprises me. I always assumed otherwise.
Shallon says
Still Wonder if the food is cheaper to make- even if it is sold for the same price - thus more profit ...?
Amanda Cowan says
I'm kind of shocked at how much complacency I see on my social media (FB, etc) when I post these articles. That whole "in moderation" thing.. so many people just don't seem to care and it's a crying shame. I still share because if only one or two people share on then it continues and change, slowly but surely, will happen. I will wait impatiently for the follow up to this and I'll do what more I can. We're already voting with our money... and talking as much as we can about it.. I want to do more though!
Toni South says
Amanda, I know what you mean. I try to not be the crazy girl, pushing info down people's throats but it's so hard to sit by while it seems like everyone doesn't care. You said it though, one or two people sharing and the more the general public sees the same info over and over, the more people start listening up.
As I was sitting here reading this article, my daughter's teacher sent an email out asking if a parent could bring in pink donuts for the class this Thursday. Sometimes it feels like we are fighting an uphill battle, but there are more and more of us that are NOT complacent! Don't get frustrated. Keep reposting:)
sarah blue says
When I visited London over winter break, I found it hard to find anything that didn't have a million ingredients in it.
I saw msg, aspartame and a lot of other ingredients I had never seen before.
I didn't see much difference.
Tina says
I can't wait to hear what you're going to do about it. I'm more than ready to help!