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Vani Hari

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Vani Hari
Born (1980-03-22) March 22, 1980 (age 44)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte [1]
OrganizationFoodBabe.com
Known forFood blogger and food activist
Websitewww.foodbabe.com

Vani Hari, also known on her blog as the Food Babe, is an American blogger, known for her known for her criticism of the food industry, whose work has in turn been criticized as pseudoscience.[2][3][4][5][6] She has gathered over 350,000 signatures via petitions pressuring food companies to remove ingredients from their products or change their production processes.[2][7] Companies including Kraft, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Subway, have changed or reconsidered ingredients in their products as a result of her campaigns.[8][9]

Criticism

The claims made by Hari have been discredited by various scientists and stated to lack a scientific basis.[10][11] Professor Joseph A. Schwarcz stated on his blog that "She has no understanding of chemistry or food science."[12] Dr. David Gorski, contributor to the blog, Science-Based Medicine, opined that Hari "has been a malignant force promoting ignorance about food."[13] She frequently links to and promotes discredited and fraudulent pseudoscientific quackery, and antivaccination nonsense such as the frauds perpetrated by fake doctor Joseph Mercola.

Career

Chick-fil-A

In 2011, Hari wrote a piece about over 100 ingredients in Chick-fil-A sandwiches which she alleged to be harmful. Chick-fil-A responded to Hari's post in May 2012, inviting her to its headquarters in Atlanta to work with the company and discuss her concerns.[8][14] In large part because of Hari's efforts, Chick-fil-A announced in late 2013 it was removing dyes, artificial corn syrup, and TBHQ from their products along with announcing a plan to only use antibiotic free chickens within the next five years.[8][15][16][17]

Chipotle

Hari investigated what ingredients were used at Chipotle Mexican Grill to prepare their food starting in 2012. Hari's investigation revealed the company was using genetically modified ingredients in their cooking oil, trans fats in its tortillas, and that their black beans contained GMO soybean oil. One week after posting her investigation to Foodbabe.com, Chipotle communications director Chris Arnold requested a meeting with Hari to discuss the public disclosure of its ingredients.[18][19] In March 2013, as a result of Hari's efforts, Chipotle published its full ingredients list on all menu items, including where Chipotle uses GMOs.[20][19]

2012 Democratic National Convention

Hari's activism brought national media attention when she protested the increasing prevalence of GMOs in Americas food supply during the 2012 Democratic National Convention as an elected delegate. Hari sat on the first row of the convention floor and held a sign that read, “Label GMOs!” protesting the use of GMOs during Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's speech.[21][22][23] Hari said President Barack Obama broke a promise that he made during his 2008 presidential campaign to label genetically modified food: “I ran to be a delegate again to make sure he stays accountable for that decision. He hasn’t addressed it once.”[21]

Kraft Foods

Hari petitioned Kraft Foods to remove certain petroleum-based artificial food dyes from Mac & Cheese, which received over 270,000 signatures on Change.org.[2] She held a tasting event outside of a Chicago grocery store to compare the UK version of Kraft Mac & Cheese, which doesn't contain the dyes with the US version. Hari also went to Kraft's headquarters just outside of Chicago to drop off the petition in person and voice her concerns.[24] Hari's campaign received worldwide media coverage, and after seven months of communication, Kraft responded by removing the dye from all their products aimed at children.[25][26][27]

Subway

In 2014, Hari launched a petition against Subway to remove azodicarbonamide from their sandwich bread. In 24 hours the petition gathered more than 50,000 signatures.[7] Subway, the world's largest sandwich chain, quickly responded by announcing a plan to remove the chemical from all of their sandwich breads. Additionally Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and Publix Super Markets announced they would remove the chemical as well.[9][28][29][30] Dr. Steven Novella, of Yale University and the New England Skeptical Society, criticized the petition by Hari, describing the campaign as "unscientific" and a case of "food-based fear mongering." [31]

Beer

On June 11, 2014, Hari posted a petition on FoodBabe.com to pressure major brewers to list the ingredients in their products.[32] On June 12, 2014, Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors released ingredients in many of their most popular products for the first time.[33] Anheuser-Busch listed ingredients in its Budweiser and Bud Light products, and announced plans to list the ingredients for other brands including Beck’s, Busch, and Michelob.[33] MillerCoors posted the ingredients in Miller Lite, Coors Light and six other brands on its Facebook page.[33] The Treasury Department regulates brewers, not the Food and Drug Administration, and does not require them to list ingredients.[34] Hari’s online petition gathered more than 44,000 signatures in two days.[35] Blogger Dr. David Gorski responded that the beer companies had "fallen victim to the latest quack making a name for herself on the Internet by peddling pseudoscience."[36]

Anti-vaccination

In October 2011, Hari posted an article on her blog titled "Should I get the Flu Shot?" in which she claimed that seasonal influenza vaccines are both harmful and ineffective, and urged her readers to consider avoiding them. In her post, Hari claimed that common constituents in flu shots including aluminum, thimerosal, formaldehyde, egg products, and sucrose would cause adverse reactions in users. She stated that she would never ingest any of the aforementioned ingredients herself, claiming that the medical community endorses them due to "corruption" and "greed."[37] Mark Crislip, an infectious disease doctor and contributor to the "Science-Based Medicine" blog, wrote a response piece entitled "Scam Stud" in which he sharply criticized Hari's claims. [38]

Microwave ovens

Hari has campaigned against the use of microwave ovens, for reasons that include the claim that they cause water molecules to form crystals that resemble other crystals which have been exposed to the names of Hitler and Satan, along with "negative thoughts or beliefs".[39] She cites the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto in support of this claim.[40] Dr. Novella calls Emoto's claims "pure pseudoscience" and finds that "Hari’s conclusions about microwaves are all demonstrably incorrect and at odds with the scientific evidence."[41]

References

  1. ^ Sheridan, Ann. "Food blogger hopes to get Obama's attention". NBC News.
  2. ^ a b c Lazare, Lewis. "Kraft Foods listens to the Food Babe — and then responds". Chicago Business Journal.
  3. ^ Template:Url=http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/scam-stud/
  4. ^ Template:Url=http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/vani-hari-a-k-a-the-food-babe-the-jenny-mccarthy-of-food/
  5. ^ Template:Url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/trevorbutterworth/2014/06/16/quackmail-why-you-shouldnt-fall-for-the-internets-newest-fool-the-food-babe/
  6. ^ Template:Url=http://iwf.org/blog/2793130/Useful-Idiot-Alert:-The-Food-Babe
  7. ^ a b Donaldson James, Susan. "Subway Takes Chemical Out of Sandwich Bread After Protest". ABC News.
  8. ^ a b c Strom, Stephanie. "Social Media As A Megaphone To Pressure The Food Industry". The New York Times.
  9. ^ a b Horowitz, Bruce. "Subway to remove chemical from bread". USA Today.
  10. ^ http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/omg-the-chemicalz/
  11. ^ http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2014/03/30/the-food-babe-and-her-hero/
  12. ^ http://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2014/06/14/why_big_food_fears_the_food_babe.html
  13. ^ "Vani Hari (a.k.a. The Food Babe): The Jenny McCarthy of food" Science-Based Medicine, June 16, 2014. Accessed June 17, 2014.
  14. ^ Taylor, Kate. "How This Food Blogger Convinced Chick-fil-A to Go Antibiotics Free".
  15. ^ Choi, Candace. "Chick-Fil-A Removing Artificial Dye, High Fructose Corn Syrup". Huffington Post.
  16. ^ Munarriz, Rick Aristotle. "The Crazy Thing Chick-fil-A Is Afraid to Tell You About Its Menu". Daily Finance.
  17. ^ "Chick-Fil-EW! Chick-Fil-A announces it will remove butane, artificial dyes, and high fructose corn syrup from food by 2014". Daily Mail.
  18. ^ Fuss, Sarah (March 27, 2013). "Activist Blogger 'Foodbabe' Scores Big Win With Chipotle". TakePart. Los Angeles, California: Participant Media. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  19. ^ a b Wooley, Nate. "'Foodbabe' Blogger Gets Wish: Chipotle Discloses What's In Its Burritos". InvestorPlace. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  20. ^ Hari, Vani. "A "Food Babe Investigates" Win – Chipotle Posts Ingredients". FoodBabe.com. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  21. ^ a b Somers, Meredith (September 5, 2012). "Delegate's front-row seat a bully pulpit on what we eat". The Washington Times. Washington, D.C.: Unification Church. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  22. ^ Bryan, David Perlmutt Florence; Mayhew, Justin (September 4, 2012). "Fried chicken, political buttons and a little darkness: Delegates find it all". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina: The McClatchy Company. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  23. ^ Dougherty, Elizabeth (September 18, 2012). "DNC Delegate Stands Up To Obama And USDA At Convention". News Talk Florida. Largo, Florida: Genesis Communications Network. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  24. ^ York, Emily (April 1, 2013). "Kraft served in mac 'n' cheese fight". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois: Tribune Company. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  25. ^ James, Susan Donaldson (March 7, 2013). "Mom to Kraft: Take Yellow Dye Out of Mac and Cheese". ABC News. New York City: American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  26. ^ Strom, Stephanie (June 5, 2013). "A Suspect Food Warning in Britain Spreads an Alarm". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  27. ^ Staff writer (October 31, 2013). "Kraft to remove artificial dyes from three macaroni and cheese varieties". Associated Press. New York City. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  28. ^ Miller, Tracy (February 6, 2014). "Subway will remove additive found in plastics from its bread after blogger's online petition". New York Daily News. New York City. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  29. ^ O'Brien, Robyn (June 13, 2012). "Eating Fresh? Check Out What's Served Up in a Sub". Prevention. Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  30. ^ "Kraft Mac and Cheese: Bloggers Want Food Dye Removed". Good Morning America. ABC.
  31. ^ Novella, Steven. "More Yoga Mat Hysteria". Neurologica. New England Skeptical Society. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  32. ^ Pisani, Joseph. "Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors Post Beer Ingredients". ABC News. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  33. ^ a b c "Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors list ingredients in key brands". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  34. ^ Sacks, Brianna. "Pressed by blogger, Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors post beer ingredients". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  35. ^ "Beer details on tap after food blogger starts one-woman campaign to force brewing companies to list their ingredients". Daily Mail. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  36. ^ "Vani Hari (a.k.a. The Food Babe): The Jenny McCarthy of food" Science-Based Medicine, June 16, 2014. Accessed June 17, 2014.
  37. ^ "Should I get the Flu Shot?" Food Babe, October 4, 2011. Accessed July 11, 2014
  38. ^ "Scam Stud" Science-Based Medicine, October 18, 2013. Accessed July 11, 2014
  39. ^ Hari, Vani (July 30, 2012). "Why It's Time To Throw Out Your Microwave". FoodBabe.com. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  40. ^ Crislip, Mark (October 18, 2013). "Scam Stud". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  41. ^ "Microwaves and Nutrition" Science-Based Medicine, April 30, 2014. Accessed June 18, 2014.

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