"Death By M&Ms"
"Step away from the M&Ms. And the Froot Loops, Kraft salad dressings, and Manischewitz Matzo Balls. And, well, basically every other processed product containing artificial food dyes, too. A new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) highlights how synthetic food dyes contribute to medical conditions like cancers, allergic reactions, and hyperactivity. Bet those Fruit Roll-Ups don't seem so appetizing now, eh?
Every year, food manufacturers pump about 15 million pounds of synthetic food dyes into processed foods and beverages. CSPI's report, "Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks" (pdf), examined the potential health effects from consuming these artificial colors. Results of the study were truly frightening. Researchers found that the three most heavily used artificial food dyes — Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 — contain cancer-causing compounds. Dyes like Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 can cause serious allergic reactions in people, while other synthetic dyes are linked to hyperactivity in children."
More at: http://food.change.org/blog/view/death_by_mm_the_problem_with_food_dyes
"These synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve the nutritional quality or safety of foods, but trigger behavior problems in children and, possibly, cancer in anybody."
More about food dye, (Added 13 Jul 2010) :
"It's hard to fathom how many insects we actually eat. I'm sure there are tons in the fields that get plowed into our wheat and other grains on a daily basis. But then there are the bugs that are intentionally put in our food, like the companies which use the female cochineal, described as a "cactus-loving insect," in order to add a reddish color to foods like ice cream, yogurt, juice, tomato sauce, candy, and even cosmetics.
The bugs are harvested in Mexico, and then they're crushed into a fine powder that is then sold to food processing companies as a pigment known as "carmine." The substance appears on labels simply as "color added" or "artificial colors" (although occasionally it's noted as Red 40 or E120)."
I'm actually thinking of picking up the phone right now to thank my mom for refusing to let us eat anything that contained either "artificial colors" or "color added," although I don't think she had any idea about the bugs.
Today, I had intended to do something about moving the cargo trailer that I bought from deceased Jim's relatives. They are the ones that had, and mistreated, his beloved Misty, the old poodle that I now have. Buying the trailer was the only way they would let me have Misty. She was my main concern.
I have been waiting for them to bring me the other new tire for the trailer, but they haven't come up here from Houston, since that day. So I will try to move it the couple of miles here, with the ones that are on it.
I was going to remove the wheels, and bring them here to air them up to see if the flat tires would hold air. Jim had blocked up the trailer, so they are not cracked. When I went by there this morning, I was offered power from the neighbor, so I will just try to air them up on the trailer there. After seeing all the built-ins, and junk inside the cargo trailer, I knew that I would have to get something heavier than my 3-liter van to move it. Oh, it could move it, I am sure, but it might tear the guts out of my transmission doing it.
The neighbor and I talked for quite a while. She has been keeping it mowed, just to keep the place neat, and never got a thank you from Jim's folks.
It is such a shame, Jim's relatives have taken anything loose that they could carry away to sell, and they have just left the lovely travel trailer sit. It has developed a leak in the roof in the front bedroom, and that made a soft spot in the floor, which is only going to get worse.
I am going to take a ladder, some cleaner and Eternabond, to see if there is anything I can do to stop it. Jim took such pride in his things, so I want to do that, in his memory.
Jay is in Houston and Ray was called away, so we didn't get anything done about it today.