You make your child a loving, filling plate of eggs for breakfast. Within minutes, their face swells to twice normal size, their skin turns as red as Elmo and they have trouble breathing.
What do you do?
If you're Robyn O'Brien, mom of four and author of "The Unhealthy Truth," you take a stand.
O'Brien went on an exhausting journey, taking on the food industry, government and big business — holding them accountable for her child's food allergies and the millions of other people who are being made ill by what she believes is the poor quality of food in this country.
O'Brien's book provides eye-opening research and guidelines that may change the way you think about and consume food.
Q: What are some of the important "Unhealthy Truths" you have discovered?
A: The United States is the only developed country in the world to have allowed certain ingredients into our food supply that have never been proven safe. Introduced in the 1990s, these ingredients were designed to increase profitability for the food industry. With no long-term human studies to assess the allergic potential of these foods or other toxicity concerns, they were introduced into our food supply without labels, despite the fact that other countries either restricted their use or insisted on labeling these new food ingredients so that consumers could make an informed choice.
Q: Why do you think the U.S is so reluctant to comply, when other countries have proven food can be made safer and still make money?
A: The United States is the only developed country that does not adhere to the precautionary principle, a governing principle that only allows ingredients into the food supply once they have been proven safe. In the U.S., our stance is that ingredients are allowed into the food supply until they are proven dangerous. Additionally, because a lot of the ingredients used to process foods in our food supply are also used in medication (artificial colors, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives), the task at hand, reducing children's exposure to these ingredients, which have been removed from children's products in other countries, is larger than it may initially seem.
2 comments:
For as long as the success of political campaigns is dependant upon the financial ability of one candidate to stand against another there will be inequality between success and truth. All donations from business or corporations to political parties should be a matter of public record!
We all have the power to make a difference...use it!
Well said. Thank you.
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