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RFK Jr wants bright artificial dyes out of food. Are Americans ready to let go?
(www.theguardian.com)
His "point" is that food dyes cause cancer, hyperactivity, and autism. It's a great horror story I'm sure. Not really a point.
For those interested in the actual science part of the article:
Why the fuss over food coloring? Are natural dyes really that much better for our health?
“They’re better for some people’s health,” says Jamie Alan, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University. “There is a very small percentage of children who are very sensitive to these dyes. And when they eat these dyes, they display behaviors that we sometimes associate with ADHD.”
Alan stresses that there is no evidence that those kids actually develop ADHD. But research has found that after eating foods containing certain dyes, children, including those diagnosed with ADHD or autism, can show signs of hyperactivity, moodiness and inattentiveness. However many of these foods, particularly candy and soda, also contain sugar, which has also been connected to hyperactive behavior.
Alan recommends that parents talk to a pediatrician and try an elimination diet to make sure the dye and not another ingredient is to blame. But she largely supports phasing out artificial dyes; most public health advocates think this is a good idea. “In my opinion,” Alan says, “because we’re talking about children and because they are a vulnerable population, I do think this is a great thing to do. But I will recognize that it is not going to impact the vast majority of the population.”
None of this changes the fact that Robert F. Kennedy is a fucking moron.
I'm ready to let go of RFK Jr.
LOL this is great!
This reminds me of the study that said that people drive more colorful cars in times when the economic outlooks are better.
So, the colorfulness expresses their character and their outlook towards a positive future.
A colleague told me of a similar study that related shorter skirt lengths on women to better economic outlooks.
huh, when i learned about the hemline index i learned about it in the inverse, but basically what i learned about macro is that it's bullshit.
Let's fix this society, if only for shorter skirts.
Stopped clock. Hell, even a backwards running clock is right ever so often.
... A backwards-running clock is right more often... Unless I'm misreading what you meant.
You're not misreading but you are thinking too much about the analogy.
Reading deeper, some backwards clocks can be an accurate projection of working ones if used with a mirror.
I get it, because we want to do the opposite of what RFK Jr wants the majority of the time.
The answer is yes. Everyone around me thinks the crap they allow in our food is bad for us. Europeans done have the same issues we do with food because they’re much more regulated.
Everyone around me thinks the crap they allow in our food is bad for us.
Without evidence of course. Just the same lack of critical thinking that RFK has. It "seems bad" and "it's chemicals".
Europeans done have the same issues we do with food because they’re much more regulated.
BS.
Avoidance of completely unnecessary chemicals is just reasonable. I don't need to be sold on not adding something that isn't needed. Why would you need proof that being marketed to with bright colors is not worth a health risk?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23026007/
Just one of many studies that raise concerns. Yes, they pump rats full of a fuckton of these chemicals that no normal human being will ingest. You could say the same thing about tons of other chemicals that have turned out to be carcinogenic. We don't have the funds to give rats/animals normal doses over the course of a normal human lifespan, so pumping high amounts to shorten the duration is the next best thing.
Red has proven to be the most difficult color to synthesize due to how red colors oxidize or break down in the environment. The natural red colors all fade rapidly which makes them poorly suited for industrial purposes.
It's why carmine is a godsend because it's both stable but it breaks down in the environment. It also has an incredibly long history as a food dye and has proven to be safe. Unfortunately it's derived from insects so it's regarded as being... gross? Weird how consumers prefer health consequences over bugs
Is the food industry doing this research the way fossil fuel and tobacco did research?
I dont know but didn't big tobacco become a big food company and it then used its discoveries on addiction to enhance its food products
Like a true satan
Are you referring to Philip Morris/Kraft?
ETA idk if Staryucks is still doing it, but several years ago, they were adding extra caffeine to their coffee to make it more addictive.
Lol 😆 @ staryucks
They mostly divested but the addictive technology remains in their scaly hands. But yes its something like that because they still own some food producers
this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2025
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