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“The moral standard isn’t always scientifically sound.”
Vani Hari
Remember that big deal about how the bread at Subway contains chemicals found in yoga mats?
Then there was the story about how fast food French fries contain a chemical used in Silly Putty. And the whole to-do about how there’s actually no pumpkin in the Starbucks pumpkin latte.
The person behind these semi-salacious, headline grabbing campaigns is this week’s guest, Vani Hari – aka Food Babe – the outspoken and often divisive food activist behind the wildly popular FoodBabe.com blog.
I met Vani at a dinner party this past summer and found her not only delightful but also razor sharp, fiercely passionate and tenacious when the subject turned to food — particularly what big food manufacturers don’t want you to know about what’s in our food. Her message? To empower the typical soccer mom with the information to feed her family right and the courage to stand up for greater transparency and accountability from companies that produce what ends up on our plates.
FoodBabe.com, which exceeds an astounding 2.5 million unique visitors per month, along with the mobilization of Vani’s passionate Food Babe Army following, has been incredibly successful in getting gigantic companies like Subway, Kraft, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, and even Anheuser-Busch to not only remove certain harmful ingredients from their food but also steer them toward more healthful policies.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that food companies are terrified of her. Her voice and legion of supporters pose a significant threat to corporate profits and business as usual. This makes her a target. Attacked daily, it’s not uncommon for her to receive death threats. But that’s what happens when you really put yourself out there, on the front lines.
The fact that she soldiers on is super ballsy. She is a warrior. Totally punk rock. The Erin Brockovitch of food.
Congressman Tim Ryan calls her Vani “a one woman consumer protection agency.” And I for one have tremendous respect for anyone who demonstrates her level of courage and advocacy.
Vani and I were supposed to sit down in person in New York a couple weeks ago but the big storm that never was left her with a cancelled flight and compelled me to break my cardinal rule and host this conversation on Skype. I never do this, but I think Vani’s message is potent and important and it didn’t appear we would be in the same city at the same time again anytime soon, so I took a chance and I’m glad I did.
This is a great talk. A talk about how all of us, irrespective of our personal dietary proclivities, can live a cleaner, more organic and healthier lifestyle in today’s overprocessed, contaminated-food world.
This is a talk about corporate responsibility and corporate transparency.
This is a talk about government oversight and regulation of our food, our food companies, and the ingredients that find their way into our food.
And most importantly, from my perspective, this is a talk about the inherent power and responsibility we hold as as consumers to be advocates; to raise our voice and be heard; to hold the people behind the food we eat more accountable for how its made and what goes into it.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the conversation.
Peace + Plants,
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Thank you to this week’s show sponsors:
Production, music & sound design by Tyler Piatt. Additional production by Chris Swan. Graphic art by Shawn Patterson. Thanks boys!
SHOW NOTES
Connect with The Food Babe:
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Youtube
- Pre-order your copy of The Food Babe Way * today for release on February 10th
- Food Babe Scam: My Response to the Attacks on Me and Our Movement by Vani Hari
- How I got the flame retardant out of my Gatorade by Sarah Cavanaugh (theguardian.com)
- Many G.M.O.-Free Labels, Little Clarity Over Rules by Stephanie Strom (NY Times)
- Foods Full Of Ingredients Banned In Other Countries by Dr. Joseph Mercola (honeycolony.com)
- Subway: ‘Yoga Mat’ Chemical Is Almost Out Of Bread by Candice Choi (Huffington Post)
- Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us * by Michael Moss
- 5 Common Chemicals That Are Making You Fat & Depressed by Vani Hari
The Food Babe recommends Living Maxwell Blog: Your Guide To Organic Food & Drink
*Disclosure: Books and products denoted with an asterisk are hyperlinked to an affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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Love the Food Babe! Such a brave and compassionate struggle she’s committed herself to. So grateful for her effort in brining change in our over-processed and over-chemicalized industrial food system. She is a true David against Goliath. During the podcast, I was thinking how great it would be if there was an app, where we could barcode-scan food items at grocery stores and it would tell us how safe the food item is (scale of 1-10). Tells us of dangers lying in the food (what chemicals to look out for that are hidden in there. Containing a link to more info and research on that ingredient, and even a profile setting, that allows the app to filter foods for people who are Vegan, Vegetarian, or have food allergies. When hearing Rich’s sign-off homework for the week, it’s obvious that we need this technology right now.
-Namaste
Awesome, was waiting for this episode. I am a whoel food plant based, so i think i am safe, but thanks to episode, hope more people become AWARE!
I loved the interview, and I appreciate and respect her work. But, being a bit of a purist, I was disappointed that she called coconut and olive oil healthy. Dr. Esslestyn’s teaching is that they are simply not as bad as corn, soy and cannola. Olive and coconut oil are refined extracts from the whole food. I hope the word gets out that the vested interests will be sending trolls to plant bad reviews and comments. She is a force, and I wish her all the best.
Great Info Rich!
Food babe is my hero. I was lucky enough to meet her in Laguna Beach and have been so inspired to share all the great information. Vote with your dollars!!!
Why don’t you be specific Michael? It will be easy for me to find the science to back up her statements. I’ve already done it a few times for people who speak without doing any of their own research.
FOODUCATE is a free app that gives you most of what you are looking for. I use it a lot.