Hear what the 'Food Babe' thinks about 'poisonous' dyes
What this video covers
A short December 2024 segment on Fox News’ “One Nation” in which Hari makes her case against artificial food dyes — which the segment’s title calls “poisonous” — along with chemical additives and ultra-processing more broadly. The show opens with claims that Red Dye No. 3 is “associated with cancer in animals” and banned in Europe (and being banned in California), and that ultra-processed foods drive obesity — Hari, author of Feeding You Lies, endorses the framing.
Hari’s central argument is about who regulates what: she claims American food companies effectively regulate their own chemicals, producing their own safety data for the FDA, which she says lacks the capacity for independent review — whereas in Europe, she says, a company must prove a chemical is safe before it’s allowed in food. She repeats her core numbers: over 10,000 food chemicals allowed in the US versus only 400 in Europe, with Kellogg’s selling dye-free versions in Canada, Australia, and India while serving US customers artificial dyes she calls poisonous.
She also recounts her origin story — an ultra-processed-food childhood, nine prescription drugs, and “rock bottom” when her appendix came out in her early 20s — and runs through her early campaign wins: Chick-fil-A, her first target (a blog post on what she said were close to 100 ingredients in its chicken sandwich); Kraft mac and cheese (where she argued Europe’s warning-label requirement for dyes “may cause adverse effects on activity and attention in children” already applied); and Subway, where she campaigned to remove azodicarbonamide, which she called “the yoga mat chemical” and claimed becomes a carcinogen when heated. On affordability, she argues the farmer’s market is one of the cheapest places to eat well.
The segment aired as the MAHA movement’s food agenda was taking shape around the incoming administration: Hari’s dye campaign had become one of the movement’s signature causes, and her message here is the distilled version — artificial dyes don’t belong in food, American children are eating them daily in products like cereal, and companies already make dye-free versions for other markets.
Key points
- Hari argues artificial food dyes, chemical additives, and ultra-processing could be harming Americans’ health.
- Her regulatory argument: she claims US companies self-regulate chemicals with their own safety data, while Europe requires proof of safety before a chemical enters food — her characterization.
- She repeats the numbers she uses across her campaigns: 10,000+ chemicals allowed in the US vs. 400 in Europe; Kellogg’s dye-free versions sold in Canada, Australia, and India.
- She recounts her backstory: ultra-processed-food childhood, nine prescription drugs, “rock bottom” at her appendix removal in her early 20s.
- She runs through her early campaign wins — Chick-fil-A, Kraft mac and cheese, and Subway’s azodicarbonamide (“the yoga mat chemical,” which she claims becomes carcinogenic when heated) — her claims.
- On cost, she argues the farmer’s market is among the cheapest sources of quality food.