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RFK Jr wants bright artificial dyes out of food. Are Americans ready to let go?
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2025
194 points (94.9% liked)
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Stopped clock. Hell, even a backwards running clock is right ever so often.
Its right twice a day every day. Pretty fuckin generous analogy lol
... 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.
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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.
Interesting duh moment right.
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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.
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All a distraction. Yes some of these ideas aren't bad. We don't need this fuckhead to implement them.
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Why not disallow all food dye, not just the bright ones?
Beet juice is a bright dye, but it’s also a food. Some dyes are entirely harmless. I believe the rule they’re talking about affects artificial dyes, not bright dyes, and the headline is mistaken.
For example, some red dyes are sourced from petroleum instead of edible substances.
some red dyes are sourced from petroleum
so are skin creams and lipstick btw and i'm pretty sure these are non-toxic
if you wanna know more, look up "paraffine wax". it's literally what skin creams are mostly made of.
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Harmless by themselves, perhaps, but if they make some ultraprocessed foods more appealing are they entirely harmless? I think it's fine to make beet juice in the kitchen for our own uses.
I mean, the fact that there is stuff for sale in the US with the label saying "scientists in California have proven this causes cancer" is proof enough that even a crazy nutter like RFK can be sometimes right.
Is this comment about the Prop 65 warnings? Prop 65 is useless, because the dose is the poison and it says nothing about that. Putting warnings up almost everywhere means people will (and often should) ignore them.
The Prop 65 warning is on so many things because it's way cheaper to put the label on everything, regardless of whether it's technically true or not, than it is to run the tests to prove that the specific substances called out are not present.
I can taste some of them, especially red and blue artificial food dyes. I'd love to see them replaced because I look like a weirdo eating around the m&ms I don't like.
Idk, there's something beautiful about seeing all one or two colors of M&Ms left in a bowl.