Vani Hari: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 19:51, 9 March 2014
Vani Hari | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 22, 1979 |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Charlotte – B.S. Computer Science (2001) |
| Organization | FoodBabe.com |
| Known for | Consumer Activist and Author |
| Website | www |
Vani Hari is an American consumer activist and author of Foodbabe.com, a website that investigates harmful ingredients in the American food supply and has gathered over 350,000 signatures via petitions pressuring major food corporations to remove harmful ingredients from their products.[1][2] Through her investigations, Hari has forced responses from major food companies like Kraft, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Subway to change or reconsider the harmful ingredients they use to make their food.[3][4][5]
Early Life
Hari went to South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, North Carolina and graduated from UNC-Charlotte with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.[6]
Career
Foodbabe.com
Hari began her career as a banking consultant at a top-tier consulting firm. While working as a consultant her health began to suffer and she was diagnosed with appendicitis. Because of her health issues she began to investigate the ingredients in the food she was eating and wrote about her findings on Foodbabe.com.[7] Because of her growing movement, Chick-fil-A has announced a plan to only use antibiotic-free chickens within the next five years, Chipotle published its full ingredients list on all menu items, Subway has removed the harmful ingredient Azodicarbonamide from their sandwich bread, and Kraft has removed artificial dyes from all their products marketed toward children.[3][8][4][9]
Chick-fil-A
In 2011, Hari wrote a piece about the harmful ingredients in Chick-fil-A sandwiches, of which there are over 100. Chick-fil-A responded to Hari's post in May 2012, inviting her to their headquarters in Atlanta to work with them and discuss her concerns.[3][10] Because of Hari's investigation, Chick-fil-A announced in late 2013 they were removing dyes, artificial corn syrup, and TBHQ from their products along with announcing a plan to only use antibiotic free chickens within the next five years.[3][11][12][13]
Chipotle Mexican Grill
In 2012, Hari began investigating what ingredients were used at Chipotle Mexican Grill to prepare their food.[8] Hari's investigation revealed the company was using genetically modified ingredients in their cooking oil, trans fats in its tortillas, and that their black beans contained GMO soybean oil.[8] One week after posting her investigation to Foodbabe.com, Chipotle communications director Chris Arnold requested a meeting with Hari to discuss the public disclosure of its ingredients. [8][14] In March 2013, as a result of Hari's efforts, Chipotle published its full ingredients list on all menu items, including where Chipotle uses GMOs.[15][16]
2012 Democratic National Convention
Hari's activism brought national media attention when she protested the increasing prevalence of GMOs in Americas food supply during the 2012 Democratic National Convention as an elected delegate. Hari sat on the first row of the convention floor and held a sign that read, “Label GMOs!” protesting the use of GMOs during Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's speech.[17][18][19] Hari said President Barack Obama broke a promise that he made during his 2008 presidential campaign to label genetically modified food: “I ran to be a delegate again to make sure he stays accountable for that decision. He hasn’t addressed it once.”[17]
Kraft Foods
Hari also petitioned Kraft Foods to remove harmful petroleum-based artificial food dyes from Mac & Cheese, which received over 270,000 signatures on Change.org.[1] She held a tasting event outside of a Chicago grocery store to compare the UK version of Kraft Mac & Cheese, which doesn't contain the dyes with the US version. Hari also went to Kraft's headquarters just outside of Chicago to drop off the petition in person and voice her concerns.[20] After seven months of communication, Kraft responded by removing the dye from all their products aimed at children. Hari's campaign received worldwide media coverage, and she was saluted for her efforts by Dr. Mehmet Oz on his national TV program Dr. Oz.[21][9][22][23]
Subway
In 2014, Hari launched a petition against Subway to remove Azodicarbonamide from their sandwich bread, which is the same chemical used to make yoga mats and shoe rubber. In just 24 hours the petition gathered more than 50,000 signatures.[2] Subway, the world's largest sandwich chain, quickly responded by announcing a plan to remove the chemical from all of their sandwich breads. This began a snowball effect, with Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Publix Grocery Store announcing they would remove the chemical as well.[4][24][25][26] Hari's investigation also encouraged the Environmental Working Group to release a report showing 500 products that use Azodicarbonamide[27] The President of the Environmental Working Group, Ken Cook, also acknowledged and thanked Hari for her efforts during her campaign in his TEDx Manhattan talk.[28]
Reception
Hari has received coverage in the New York Times, USA Today, Washington Times, Chicago Tribune, and has appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, Good Morning America, NBC News, Fox News and is a regular food expert on CNN.[3][4][17][21][26][6][29][30]
References
- ^ a b Lazare, Lewis. "Kraft Foods listens to the Food Babe — and then responds". Chicago Business Journal.
- ^ a b Donaldson James, Susan. "Subway Takes Chemical Out of Sandwich Bread After Protest". ABC News.
- ^ a b c d e Strom, Stephanie. "Social Media As A Megaphone To Pressure The Food Industry". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c d Horowitz, Bruce. "Subway to remove chemical from bread". USA Today.
- ^ Martinez, Astrid. "Food blogger's mission to eat healthy". WBTV.
- ^ a b Sheridan, Ann. "Food blogger hopes to get Obama's attention". NBC News.
- ^ Martin, Madison. "How The Food Babe Began". WSOC-TV.
- ^ a b c d Fuss, Sarah. "Activist Blogger 'Foodbabe' Scores Big Win With Chipotle". TakePart. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ^ a b Donaldson James, Susan. "Mom to Kraft: Take Yellow Dye Out of Mac and Cheese". ABC News.
- ^ Taylor, Kate. "How This Food Blogger Convinced Chick-fil-A to Go Antibiotics Free".
- ^ Choi, Candace. "Chick-Fil-A Removing Artificial Dye, High Fructose Corn Syrup". Huffington Post.
- ^ Munarriz, Rick Aristotle. "The Crazy Thing Chick-fil-A Is Afraid to Tell You About Its Menu". Daily Finance.
- ^ "Chick-Fil-EW! Chick-Fil-A announces it will remove butane, artificial dyes, and high fructose corn syrup from food by 2014". Daily Mail.
- ^ Wooley, Nate. "'Foodbabe' Blogger Gets Wish: Chipotle Discloses What's In Its Burritos". InvestorPlace. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ^ Hari, Vani. "A "Food Babe Investigates" Win – Chipotle Posts Ingredients". FoodBabe.com. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ^ "Ingredients Statement". Chipotle.com. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ^ a b c Somers, Meredith. "Delegate's front-row seat a bully pulpit on what we eat". The Washington Times.
- ^ Mayhew, Justin. "Fried chicken, political buttons and a little darkness: Delegates find it all". Charlotte Observer.
- ^ Dougherty, Elizabeth. "DNC Delegate Stands Up To Obama And USDA At Convention". News Talk Florida.
- ^ York, Emily. "Kraft served in mac 'n' cheese fight". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ a b "Where Are They Now?". Dr. Oz. Fox.
- ^ Strom, Stephanie. "A Suspect Food Warning in Britain Spreads an Alarm". The New York Times.
- ^ "Kraft to remove artificial dyes from three macaroni and cheese varieties". The Guardian.
- ^ Miller, Tracy. "Subway will remove additive found in plastics from its bread after blogger's online petition". New York Daily News.
- ^ O'Brien, Robyn. "Eating Fresh? Check Out What's Served Up in a Sub". Prevention.
- ^ a b "Kraft Mac and Cheese: Bloggers Want Food Dye Removed". Good Morning America. ABC.
- ^ Castillo, Michaell. "Group warns almost 500 products contain chemical found in yoga mats".
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Ken Cook (EWG Database)". TEDx Manhattan.
{{cite episode}}: Text "http://new.livestream.com/tedx/manhattan2014/videos/43893574" ignored (help) - ^ "How you can make a difference in the fast food industry". A Healthy You & Carol Alt. Fox News.
- ^ "Food Bloggers Take on Kraft Mac and Cheese". Starting Point. CNN.