It’s easily arguable that many families have a box of macaroni and cheese mix in their cabinets right now. It’s basically a staple in most homes, especially those with children. Many of us grew up with mac and cheese, and not just any brand, but specifically the blue box, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Today the brand is just as popular, but those who read labels have discovered that this food contains some of the most family unfriendly ingredients and they want it changed.
Vani Hari runs the website Food Babe and Lisa Leake is the voice behind the blog 100 Days of Real Food. Together these two women have made some noise as they have brought the ingredients of Kraft’s mac and cheese to light. The American version of this boxed food contains artificial food dyes, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. Hari and Leake are out to change this.
The two women have created an online petition to the Kraft company asking people to understand the dangers of the dyes and then sign the petition to get them removed. The information around the petition states that the mac and cheese in the UK does not contain the dyes. They were removed when the public cried out. Curious why they were left in the American product? Hari and Leake are too.
Furthermore, here are the reasons the women state as to why the dyes should be removed from the product. Food dyes:
- Are man-made in a lab with chemicals derived from petroleum (a crude oil product, which also happens to be used in gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt, and tar).
- Require a warning label in other countries outside the US.
- Have been banned in countries like Norway and Austria (and are being phased out in the UK).
- Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 are contaminated with known carcinogens (a.k.a. an agent directly involved in causing cancer).
- Cause an increase in hyperactivity in children.
- Have a negative impact on children’s ability to learn.
- Have been linked to long-term health problems such as asthma, skin rashes, and migraines.
- Add absolutely no nutritional value to the foods we are eating and are solely used for aesthetic purposes only.
If the petition is received and action takes place, many believe this will be one of many major companies to change their ingredients to make them safe and more appropriate to feed to our families. (Yoplait recently did this with the removal of high fructose corn syrup after consumer outrage.)
Leah Segedie is one of the most popular and influential health bloggers in the nation. She has lead the charge against GMOs and their lack of labeling among many other worthy fights for the health of our families. Of course, she has an opinion on this topic too, and responded.
“I’m opposed to Kraft feeding anything to us they don’t in Europe. Let’s face it. Our government doesn’t pay for national health care so they don’t have to be so strict about food safety. They don’t pay for it. We do. It’s up to us, the citizens, to demand things like this through consumer and social pressure. Let’s take our food back America.”
If you want your voice to be heard, check out the petition and sign. Until they make the change, make our Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese at home.
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