Nutrition is vital for survival of our people. When I hear about Kraft Macaroni and Cheese putting profits over people’s health it
devastates me.
It’s a popular meal choice for students who live on their own and cook for themselves. It’s convenient and cheap. In about three minutes it’s ready and tastes good. Most of us as children were served it so it’s a comfort food.
Many Americans, however, have stopped serving the tasty, cheesy, and easy to make meal.Pioneer in the war against Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is Lisa Leake, a concerned mother and food blogger who is concerned over the use of Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 to artificially dye the pasta, giving it a bright orange hue.
Flip over a box and under the nutritional label you will see them listed as ingredients. They are in many foods.According to the Federal Drug Association (FDA), they are man-made color additives and are safe for consumption.
However, they are derived from petroleum and coal sources according to the FDA. Norway and Austria have both banned them in their countries according to Leake.
Personally, I think that a corporation such as Kraft, which according to Leake is the largest US based food company, has so much pull that through lobbying they would use their financial resources to ensure the protection of a minimally harmless ingredient that gave them an advantage over their competition in the consumer market.
Who judges just how minimal the damage done through consumption is though. If it is you or someone such as your mother or your child who is affected then does it make a difference. If enough Americans care about something and speak up, then corporations such as Kraft will be forced to listen. Michael R. Taylor was once the Vice President of the company Monsanto, which has an unprecedented approach to disregarding the dignity of life.
Now he is the Deputy Commissioner of the FDA. He didn’t uphold the dignity of life when he was at Monsanto so why should I expect him to as the head of the FDA?
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reports on their website that Yellow 5 causes allergy-like hypersensitivity reactions and hyperactivity in some children.
It also may contain cancer-causing substances. Yellow 6 causes tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney while also containing traces of several other carcinogens according to the CSPI.
According to Cancer.org about 1,660,290 new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2013 with about 580,350 Americans expected to die of cancer, almost 1,600 people per day. Cancer.org also says that one in four deaths in Americans are attributed to cancer with it being the second leading cause of death next to heart disease.
Leake wants Americans to know about the safer version of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, which is available in the United Kingdom.
Known as Kraft “Cheesey Pasta,” the British version substitutes paprika extract and beta-carotene instead of Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 to create a natural color without health stigmas.
In her petition to Kraft she simply asks Kraft to make the safer version of the product available in the US. If you want to sign the petition you can visit change.org.
