California’s vital food safety ban takes aim at America’s health crisis

Throughout childhood and well into my adulthood, Skittles were my candy of choice. Fortunately, my palate matured and just in time for a Skittles Ban. My great state of California has passed law banning certain food additives found in Skittles and other popular snacks. Specifically, the California Food Safety Act — a first of its kind law in the country — bans the manufacture, sale or distribution of brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye No. 3. As much as I believe in personal responsibility, I fully support this ban. Americans need the government to step up and stop these corporations from poisoning us to death. // At bottom, the California Food Safety Act makes foods safer for state residents. It doesn’t look to ban Skittles or push other snacks off the market. The act simply says to food makers that they can’t distribute food that we know contains toxic chemicals that harm people. Other nations have taken this stance for years, protecting their people. You won’t find Frosted Flakes, Mountain Dew or Twinkies in Spain. The European Union nixes a number of food additives that have been linked to cancer and/or other health problems. According to the National Institutes of Health, the United States currently ranks first in obesity prevalence levels. Those levels happen to be more than twice that of the EU. As reported by The Economist, 28% of Americans have multiple chronic health problems (such as diabetes or arthritis), more than in any European country. That’s why Europeans have a longer life expectancy.  Clearly, the United States has a problem. That problem starts and ends with food quality. The rise of processed foods in the United States has been significant over the past few decades with ultra-processed foods being consumed now more than ever. By ultra-processed, I’m talking about candy like Skittles, frozen pizza, boxed macaroni and cheese, canned soups and so on… And while low-income Americans are less likely to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, research shows that the consumption of ultra-processed foods has increased among nearly all demographics, regardless of income. The stuff is addictive. And these processed foods are inextricably tide to chronic diseases that kill. The government should treat these chemical-laden foods like fentanyl. But it doesn’t. The simple reason is because trash foods like Skittles line the coffers of many in corporate America. Mars, the company that owns Skittles, banked $45 billion in sales in 2022. Kraft Heinz–which makes a totally different Ketchup for Europe than for the United States—has pulled in $27 billion so far this year. These companies are killing the game and killing Americans. Something must be done on a national level. We’re more than a century past Upton Sinclair’s the Jungle. There’s no reason the U.S. government should allow companies to sell toxic foods that harm people, particularly when we’re not afforded universal healthcare to ameliorate some of the costs tied to the consequences of eating ultra-processed foods.  With food desserts across the country and live-to-work pressures forcing people to eat on the go, our country needs leadership to take the wheel on dietary destruction. We deserve clean, affordable food. There’s nothing sweeter than that.