Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised to ban flouride from drinking Water and other ‘poisons’ from Ameri-can food. Now, he’s apparently coming through again, calling for a ban on ‘all artificial food colour-ings’ by the end of his reign as America’s Health Czar…
Some will love this…
This is something that would endear Trump Health and Wellness Czar RFK to millions of anti-additive advocates. They’ve been calling for such a bold move for decades. And he’s featurued it as a ‘pillar’ of his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement.
Activist Vani Hari, who delivered more than 400,000 petition signatures to the Michigan headquarters for Kellogg’s last year asking the company to remove artificial food dyes, is probably typical of such supporters.
“I have been working on this issue for over a decade and I am thrilled Secretary Kennedy laid out an ultimatum,” Hari told ABC News in a statement.
But there’s much more to the story than that.
Powerful enemies will push back…
Alas, the Road to Hell is said to be paved with good intentions. And RFK will definitely find himself Hellbound if he goes through with his plan.
First of all, he’s up against a monumentally powerful industry – the Packed and Processed Food peo-ple – in his latest project. They’ve historically fought back against such moves as banning even a single artificial colouring agent. Bright, bold, saturated colours are one of their most powerful wea-pons in the eternal battle to get consumers to notice and choose their products over the competi-tion.
Make no mistake!
RFK held a special closed-door meeting with top packaged-food brand and industry reps this past Monday.
Afterward, Melissa Hockstad, President and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), drafted a special memo to her membership that warned, “The Secretary made clear his intention to take action unless the industry is willing to be proactive with solutions.”
Decision time ‘imminent’
But it typically takes years of tinkering and ‘development’ to find ways of complying with such bans which don’t effect the food industry disastrously. In fact, one of the key functions of trade associa-tions such as the CBA is to lobby the politicos and regulators for delays in the implementation of such bans and other changes.
In this case, though, Hockstadt’s memo makes it clear she and her group are all too aware, ‘time is of the essence’…
“We will be working with your teams to gain as much alignment as possible about how we move for-ward and ensure the industry is positioned in the best possible way as we navigate next steps for-ward,” she wrote. “But to underscore, decision time is imminent.”
Long may he reign?
The key unspoken question in this tension-filled scenario remains: How long will RFK Jr. remain US Health and Human Services Secretary?
He’s undoubtedly assuming he’ll hold his current office as long as his boss remains in the White House. But knowing Trump’s reputation for capriciousness, and flip-flopping on issues of all shapes and sizes, RFK could be ‘out’ not in 3 years, but in 3 months. Or three weeks. Or even three days.
Then, what? No matter how big and powerful you are, you can’t plan for unknowns like that. And then, there’s the ancient and respected truism that forcing a mega-group such as the CBA to change course on even the smallest issues is like trying to turn an ocean liner, or stop a speeding freight train.
My take
Banning all artificial colouring agents from commercially prepared, processed foods may be a goal which eludes everyone involved…
~ Maggie J.