Many years back, at a rained-out fourth of July party, stuffed in a garage apartment with a bunch of people, I was talking to my friend Corey about an idea I had to investigate food additives and sources.
This must have been an idea for a newspaper column because the internet was (at the time) still in its infancy. Blogs hadn’t been invented yet, nor social media.
She thought about it for a moment and then foresaw how paralyzed a person would become, unable to make decisions about eating, unable to trust food and food sources, unable to relax and enjoy a meal.
Which got me thinking about the pressure on papers back then, needing advertising revenue to keep afloat, and needing to NOT offend the advertisers.
I didn’t pursue the idea.
Years later, I became aware of The Food Babe, Vani Hari, and was glad that someone had done this and was gaining a following.
This woman recently gained national attention when she spoke at a healthy foods round-table, which included Senator Ron Johnson and now-HHS secretary RFK, Jr., and other folks I’ve talked about on this blog, showing us the visible difference between the US formula for Froot Loops vs. the Canadian product.
Soon after, she led a group of protesters to the General Mills headquarters, where company officials refused to even come outside. She delivered a petition signed by thousands of people (including me), asking them to follow through on an old promise to remove dyes linked to ADHD and other behavioral issues.
Some General Mills employee even put a hand-written “Get Off My Lawn” sign in the window.
Her actions sparked change, and many people will benefit from it.
She is now part of the push to clean up infant formula. It’s so upsetting to find out that formulas often contain seed oils, corn syrup, and heavy metals. Are you kidding me?
I breastfed my kids, but I remember being admonished/warned by the pediatrician not to give my infant plain old water, or weak chamomile tea.
These were things that my mom and grandmother had given their babies (including me) in the heat of summer…. and we turned out fine!
Anyway, check out her website, sign up for her newsletter, or give her some likes or a follow on the socials.
It’s eye-opening!
If you’ve got 4 hours of spring cleaning to do this weekend, listen to the entire round-table while you work:
The Cancer Canary 