Ah the Food Babe, she is going to keep me in business for a long time. She is famous for arguing that not only should you not eat anything with an ingredient you can’t pronounce, you simply shouldn’t be eating chemicals at all (besides the fact that everything is a chemical). If you haven’t perused her site (foodbabe.com) I would definitely suggest it. It makes for delightful light reading. She came into the public consciousness in 2014 by bringing to light that subway uses a chemical in its bread that is found in yoga mats[1]. This chemical, called azodicarbonamide is used as a filling and preservative agent and, as the Food Babe readily pointed out, is linked to respiratory problems. However, the World Health Organization (who issued that warning) found problems only in factory workers who breathed in high concentrations[2]. There is no indication that this compound is in any way detrimental to people eating it. Now, we can argue whether we should be eating it if it is linked to health problems for manufacturers, however that was not the point that the Food Babe was making. She wanted it out because the bread wasn’t “fresh”. After a petition swept the public consciousness, Subway caved, changing their formula to remove the offending molecule. Soon after news came out that thousands of food products, including many breads, had the chemical, but no one was able to find any health issues associated with its presence[3]. Several stories have gone on a similar path in recent years, from GMOs (that is a whole article in itself) to the Starbucks controversy over the very same chemical Subway ditched. This is a troubling trend because it not only shifts focus away from very real issues in our food, but it creates a culture where emotions are what matters, rather than the facts. I am sure that Subway was very aware of how dangerous its chemical actually was when they changed recipes, and while I don’t blame them, the pseudoscience ultimately won. This is highly troubling for those of us who work to make sure that pseudoscience and knee-jerk fear do not affect policy or public outcomes. We can and should have real discussions about things like our food, but that is not the same thing as fear mongering. Soon I will have an interview talking about how pseudoscience and perception actually shapes research and development of technologies. Until then, let me know what you think. What companies have caved to the pseudoscience and what should we do about it? [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHjm8lbgc3I [2] Cary, R., Dobson, S. Ball, E. (1999). Azodicarbonamide: Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 16. World Health Organization. [3] Aubrey, A. (2014). Almost 500 Foods Contain The 'Yoga Mat' Compound. Should We Care?. National Public Radio News. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/03/06/286886095/almost-500- foods-contain-the-yoga-mat-compound-should-we-care-keep
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AuthorI am a student at the University of New Mexico working on a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Professional Writing. I am fascinated by why people believe weird things and how that impacts broader society. ArchivesCategories
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