The following is an edited transcript of an interview between Morning Wire host Georgia Howe and Vani Hari, aka The Food Babe, on her support for RFK Jr. during his Senate confirmation hearings and how her personal story led her to fight to remove harmful chemicals from children’s food. Catch the full interview on a special <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/food-babe-vani-hari-explains-her-support-for-rfk-jr-during-his" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday edition of Morning Wire</a>.
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Make America Healthy Again champion, RFK Jr., was grilled on Capitol Hill this week as part of his confirmation process to become Health and Human Services Secretary. Despite fierce opposition from some Senators, parents and health advocates on both sides of the aisle have lined up to support him. In this episode we speak with Vani Hari, longtime food activist and New York Times bestselling author who was in the room supporting Kennedy during his Senate confirmation hearings. She explains why she believes parents are finally winning the battle to get chemicals out of kids’ food.
<div id="attachment_870139" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-870139" class="size-large wp-image-870139" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies during his Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kennedy is testifying for a second day following a tense three-hour hearing before the Senate Finance Committee where he clashed with Democrats over his stance on vaccines and abortion rights. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-2196806686.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images</div>
GEORGIA: Joining us to discuss the war over chemical-laced packaged food is Vani Hari, bestselling author, activist, and creator of the <a href="https://foodbabe.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Food Babe blog</a>. Vani thanks so much for coming on.
VANI: Thank you so much for having me.
GEORGIA: So first off, tell me a little bit about your path to food activism. How did you become interested in nutrition to begin with?
VANI: My parents came here as immigrants in the 1960s. And when they came to the United States, they were big on adopting the American culture. So when my dad went back to have an arranged marriage to my mother in India and they ended up coming here to live the rest of their lives, the first thing he introduced her to was a McDonald&#8217;s hamburger. And that&#8217;s how I was raised on an American standard diet. We were one of the only Indian families in Charlotte, North Carolina at that point, where I grew up and where I live now.
So everything was kind of handed to us in terms of what we should be eating and my parents were very trusting of the American food system. As a result, I was really sick as a child. I had eczema, I had asthma, I was in and out of doctor&#8217;s offices for most of my life. I was on so many prescription drugs. When my parents would take me to see doctors, they never asked them, like, “What is she eating? What are you feeding her?” They never asked about my diet, they just put me on the next medication. And that is how I grew up.
In my early 20s, I hit rock bottom when I ended up in the hospital having to get my appendix taken out, one of my organs. At the time they said, “Your appendix is something you don&#8217;t even need. It&#8217;s an organ that just can come out.” They made such a light situation out of it. I started to question what the doctors were telling me. Why did God give us an appendix? Why do we evolve having an appendix? I wanted to find answers. What happened to my appendix and why was it about to burst?
<div id="attachment_870125" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-870125" class="size-large wp-image-870125" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080-864x576.jpg" alt="Vani Hari, known as the &quot;Food Babe&quot;, speaks at the Green Festival in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. Food Babe is the nom de blog for Hari, a 35-year-old banking consultant turned food activist, who has built a loyal online audience by calling out companies from Starbucks Corp. to Chick-fil-A Inc. for ingredients she deems harmful. Photographer: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-455584080.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
So when I started to research what was happening in my body, I found out that I had extreme inflammation, and that was coming from my diet. When I started to make changes shortly after that scare, I remember getting this one big book and there was a concept in it that hit me like a ton of bricks: The majority of foods on the grocery store shelf are dead. They&#8217;re not alive. And I thought, that&#8217;s how I&#8217;ve felt for most of my life. Like a zombie. Not wanting to get up in the morning to go to school. Not wanting to participate in activities or physical sport activities because I didn&#8217;t have the energy because of my asthma. So when I started to take the concepts in that book and apply them to my life, I started to eat as much real living food as possible, things like fruits and vegetables and things that I would find at the farmer&#8217;s market — my whole life changes. I mean, it was dramatic to the point where I lost all of the weight that I had put on as a result of this lifestyle.
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I also started to realize a level of health that I never thought was possible. I got off nine prescription drugs, and the people around me who grew up with me — my relatives, my friends, my family — they were like, “Whoa, you have made a dramatic transformation in your appearance. What are you doing? We want a piece of what you&#8217;re doing.” They actually begged me to start a blog to share this information, to share my recipes and what I was doing, and why I suddenly refused to eat candy because it had artificial food dyes. They wanted to know the green drink that I was drinking and what was in it and how they could make it at home.
And this is before we even had a Whole Foods in Charlotte. Back then it was the little mom and pop natural food stores or the farmer&#8217;s market. So I had to really teach people in my community and people around me about these new methodologies of how to take care of your health and actually look at the root cause of what&#8217;s happening in your body. I started to realize that there were so many people out there beyond my friends and family who didn&#8217;t know the truth about what was happening in our food supply. I wanted to investigate it for them. And I wanted to investigate it for my own personal reasons. There are so many products that I thought were healthy but weren&#8217;t actually healthy. Things that I thought were good for me because they only had 400 calories or this many fat grams or they had the marketing of “eat fresh” at their fast food chain — I thought I was eating fresh, but I found out I wasn&#8217;t.
So I started to investigate these major fast food chains and major food companies. And then companies started reaching out to me. I think the first one was a yogurt chain who I was very upset with because they were really promoting the fact that they were using “organic milk” in their yogurt. And I thought, “This is amazing. This is so awesome. I could go to the mall and I can have this treat and it&#8217;s good for me.” But when you looked at the ingredients, they were coloring their products with artificial food dye. They were putting in preservatives and trans fats. Yes they were starting with organic milk, but they were adding 30 more chemicals to the concoction they put in the machines. So I wrote about that and how duped I felt, and it went so viral that the CEO of the company reached out to me, pulled the marketing off their stores, and apologized.
GEORGIA: Wow.
VANI: That was my first taste of activism, and my first taste of, “Oh my gosh, my voice can make a difference.” And then Chick-fil-A invited me to their headquarters after I wrote an article called “Chemical Filet or Chick-fil-A?” I showed the hundred ingredients that they have in their Chick-fil-A sandwich and how I thought they were healthier than going to McDonald&#8217;s. But when I compared them to the McDonald&#8217;s ingredients they were virtually the same. And this really shocked people. I mean, it went so viral that the executives at Chick-fil-A invited me to their headquarters to consult on their menu items on how to make their ingredients better. 
When I was taking off work to go there to consult with them, instead of consulting with the banking institutions, I was like, “Okay, something got to give here. Like this is obviously way more impactful than what I&#8217;m doing at the banks.” So I ended up deciding to quit my job. I was not making a dime doing Food Babe. It was literally a passion project.
The beautiful thing that happened after I quit my job was, I was able to spend 100% of my time researching the food industry. And the first thing I did — you know, I was an avid traveler. I loved to travel, it&#8217;s been a passion of mine since I was a little girl. And whenever I would go to Europe or another country, I&#8217;d always feel better. I felt better. I liked the food better, it tasted better. And I thought, “What&#8217;s going on here? Why is it so different?” So I started to compare products that we have here in the United States to products that they sell in other countries — the exact same products. Like a Doritos package here in the United States versus a Doritos package in Europe. And I would compare the ingredients. I did this large investigation and I think the title is something like, “How U.S. Companies Are Exploiting Americans.” I showed these stark differences between the same product that&#8217;s being sold here and in other countries, and how in other countries they&#8217;re using better and safer ingredients. And while here they&#8217;re using man-made chemical additives. That side-by-side comparison went so viral that it was an opportunity to finally say, “You know what, we need to hold the food companies accountable for this.”
<div id="attachment_870127" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-870127" class="size-large wp-image-870127" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637-864x576.jpg" alt="CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 05: Delegate Vani Hari holds signs that say &quot;Label GMOs&quot; during day two of the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 5, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The DNC that will run through September 7, will nominate U.S. President Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-151296637.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</div>
One of the examples in that investigation was Quaker Oats. Here in the United States, Quaker Oats has a “Strawberry and Cream” Quaker Oat pack, right? They had dyed Apple pieces to make them strawberry — dyed with a Red 40, an artificial food dye, linked to hyperactivity in children and can be contaminated with carcinogens. But in Europe, they&#8217;re using real strawberries. And you know, Quaker quickly got caught on that and that product doesn&#8217;t exist anymore, thankfully. But it was something that I just couldn&#8217;t believe the stark differences.
So I decided to take on one of the largest food companies in the world, which was Kraft at the time. They were serving little children Mac and Cheese with artificial food dyes — Yellow-5 and Yellow-6. Meanwhile, in Europe, they&#8217;re using paprika and beta carotene. It was a viral petition. It was so exciting, for the first time we were on national TV.
So I took them on. I remember it [the petition] gained a lot of steam, like 270,000 signatures, very quickly. And on April 1 — it wasn&#8217;t Happy April Fool&#8217;s Day for Kraft that day because I took the petition to their headquarters and I demanded a meeting and they sat down with me. I sat down and I looked them in the eye and I just said, “Why aren&#8217;t you doing this for American children? You already have the formulation in other countries. Why are we getting the man-made additives that are linked to all of these health issues that we&#8217;re experiencing? You know we have crazy chronic rates of disease with our kids, we have like close to half of children on some kind of medication. What is going on here?” And they looked at me and they said, “We have to agree to disagree.” And they dismissed me. And I thought, you know what? I&#8217;m not going to let up. I&#8217;m going to keep leading the charge. I&#8217;m going to keep educating the public. I&#8217;m going to tell people the truth about these chemicals.
Within six or seven months, they had to change because what happened was we were able to change the marketplace. People went from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to their competitor, Annie&#8217;s, who didn&#8217;t use artificial food dyes. And then General Mills saw an opportunity — we&#8217;re going to buy Annie&#8217;s for $800 million. So, at that point, Kraft&#8217;s like, “Shoot, we&#8217;re going to lose all our market share. We need to change right now.” And they did.
The funniest part of it all, which just makes me laugh to this day, is whenever they told the press that they were making the change, they&#8217;re like, “It had nothing to do with the petition,” right? “It had nothing to do with the worldwide press on this issue.” So I took that momentum and took on more giants&#8230;
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<h3>Catch the FULL INTERVIEW on Morning Wire</h3>
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‘The Food Babe’ Vani Hari’s MAHA Mission To Remove Chemicals From Food

'The Food Babe' Vani Hari’s MAHA Mission To Remove Chemicals From Food

Chemicals

Chick-fil-A

Corporations

Department of Health and Human Services

Fast-Food

Food

Kelloggs

Organic Food

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The iconic beer brand Bud Light took a massive hit over the summer due to the fallout from its partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
In the first week of the controversy, Bud Light sales <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/bud-light-sales-decline-dylan-mulvaney-transgender-boycott-1796451" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decreased</a> 11%, and its stock <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/05/31/anheuser-busch-stock-enters-bear-territory-amid-anti-trans-bud-light-backlash/?sh=11c6283e1bfe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plunged</a> 20% by the beginning of June, losing the brand&#8217;s parent company, AB InBev, billions in market value. It <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/19/dylan-mulvaney-bud-light-boycott" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered a revenue loss</a> in its North American market of almost $400 million during the second quarter, and the brand&#8217;s sales are still lagging.
Despite being the target of one of the most successful boycotts in U.S. history, AB InBev&#8217;s stock has mostly stabilized. It&#8217;s <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=ab+inbev+stock&amp;sca_esv=571003301&amp;ei=yfAeZb3-Doe7qtsP__OQoAY&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj9huvstd-BAxWHnWoFHf85BGQQ4dUDCBA&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=ab+inbev+stock&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiDmFiIGluYmV2IHN0b2NrMg0QABiABBixAxhGGPoBMgcQABiKBRhDMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgARIjRJQAFjXD3AAeAGQAQCYAYcBoAGdCqoBBDEwLjS4AQPIAQD4AQHCAg0QLhjHARjRAxiKBRhDwgIREC4YgAQYsQMYgwEYxwEY0QPCAg0QLhiKBRjHARjRAxhDwgIKEAAYigUYsQMYQ8ICEBAuGIoFGLEDGMcBGNEDGEPCAg8QABiKBRixAxhDGEYY-gHiAwQYACBBiAYB&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">down</a> only 12% from the start of the year, and it&#8217;s actually up 17% from one year ago. The mitigation of AB InBev&#8217;s overall losses largely stems from the fact that it owns 7 0f the 10 best-selling beer brands in the United States. So, while sales of Bud Light have plummeted, the sales of other brands owned by AB InBev have remained the same or even increased as Americans switch to other brands without knowing that they are owned by the parent company of Bud Light.
The company, along with rival Molson Coors (the owner of Miller and Coors), have an iron grip on the domestic beer market, reducing the effectiveness of any boycott. This is why the boycott of Bud Light has only damaged AB InBev&#8217;s North American market and not crippled it.
<div id="attachment_636329" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-636329" class="size-large wp-image-636329" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1574581815-864x576.jpg" alt="MIAMI, FLORIDA - JULY 27: Bud Light, made by Anheuser-Busch, sits on a store shelf on July 27, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Anheuser-Busch InBev announced it will lay off hundreds of corporate employees as its Bud Light beer sales continue to struggle. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1574581815-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1574581815-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1574581815-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1574581815.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Joe Raedle/Getty Images</div>
Beer isn&#8217;t the only market that has been cornered by a few large, woke companies. Practically every name-brand item that you can buy in your local grocery store is owned by a handful of very powerful corporations, and all of them have pushed leftist ideology in some way.
The Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2021/jul/14/food-monopoly-meals-profits-data-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigated</a> 61 items commonly sold at grocery stores in 2021 and found that a majority of the market share for almost 80% of those products was controlled by four or fewer companies. Close to 93% of the market for soft drinks is dominated by the Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr. Pepper. Breakfast cereal giants General Mills, Kellogg&#8217;s, and Post Holdings have cornered close to 73% of their market. PepsiCo has an almost complete monopoly on the country&#8217;s dip brands, with 88% of the market.
In 2022, 60% of the domestic American market for goods such as pork, coffee, bread, and cookies was controlled by just four companies. For products like beef, baby food, pasta, and soda the market concentration is even more acute — 80% of the market for those goods is controlled by the top four producers, <a href="https://time.com/6139127/u-s-food-prices-monopoly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Time.
The largest of these companies own dozens if not hundreds of brands and make tens of billions of dollars a year in revenue. According to the credit card company <a href="https://capitaloneshopping.com/blog/11-companies-that-own-everything-904b28425120" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Capital One</a>, these companies are:
<h4>Kellogg&#8217;s</h4>
<ul>
<li>major <a href="https://www.kelloggs.com/en_US/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brands</a>: Cheez-It, Eggo, Famous Amos, Pop-Tarts, Pringles, Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Special K, Rice Crispies</li>
</ul>
<h4>General Mills</h4>
<ul>
<li>major <a href="https://www.generalmills.com/food-we-make/brands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brands</a>: Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Gold Medal, Cheerios, Chex, Green Giant, Lucky Charms, Nature Valley, Pillsbury</li>
</ul>
<h4>Kraft-Heinz</h4>
<ul>
<li>major <a href="https://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/brands.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brands</a>: Heinz Ketchup, Kraft Mac &amp; Cheese, Lunchables, Velveeta, Jell-O, Oscar Meyer, Kool-Aid</li>
</ul>
<h4>Mondelez-International</h4>
<ul>
<li>major <a href="https://www.mondelezinternational.com/Our-Brands/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brands</a>: Cadbury, Chips Ahoy!, Nabisco, Oreo, BelVita, Triscuit, Ritz, Wheat Thins</li>
</ul>
<h4>Mars</h4>
<ul>
<li>major <a href="https://www.mars.com/our-brands">brands</a>: M&amp;Ms, Snickers, Twix, Skittles, Uncle Ben’s, Milky Way, Starburst, Spearmint, 3 Musketeers</li>
</ul>
<h4>Coca-Cola</h4>
<ul>
<li>major <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/brands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brands</a>: Coca-Cola, Minute Maid, Sprite, Barq&#8217;s, Fanta, Dasani, Powerade, Vitamin Water, Schweppes</li>
</ul>
<h4>Unilever</h4>
<ul>
<li>major <a href="https://www.unilever.com/brands/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brands</a>: Ben and Jerry&#8217;s, Hellmann&#8217;s, Knorr, Breyers, Ragu, Klondike</li>
</ul>
<h4>PepsiCo</h4>
<ul>
<li>major <a href="https://www.pepsico.com/who-we-are/about-pepsico#:~:text=Our%20portfolio%20includes%20major%20global,Mafer%2C%20Tortrix%20and%20Kero%20Coco." target="_blank" rel="noopener">brands</a>: Pepsi, Lay&#8217;s, Aquafina, Doritos, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Quaker, Tostitos, Fritos, Cheetos</li>
</ul>
<h4>Nestle</h4>
<ul>
<li>major <a href="https://www.nestle.com/brands/brandssearchlist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brands</a>: CoffeeMate, DiGiorno, Gerber, KitKat, Lean Cuisine, Perrier, Stouffer&#8217;s, Toll House, San Pellegrino</li>
</ul>
The brand lists for these companies are in no way exhaustive. Each has a massive portfolio of brands under their control.
The food industry made close to $200 million in political contributions during the 2020 election cycle, and almost $125 million during the 2022 midterm elections, <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/totals.php?cycle=1990&amp;ind=A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Open Secrets. The 9 companies listed above tended to give equally to Democrats and Republicans during the 2022 election cycle, despite the fact that they have also tended to support leftist social policies.
All 9 companies have expressed support for LGBT pride celebrations and have touted their LGBT inclusion policies.
One of Unilever&#8217;s most recognizable brands, Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s ice cream, has become infamous for its endorsement of leftist policies.
The co-founders of the brand, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, have been trying to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-and-jerry-still-fighting-to-keep-their-ice-cream-from-fellow-jews-in-israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boycott</a> Israel for several years, and new employees were reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-ben-jerrys-employees-forced-to-watch-anti-israel-videos-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">required</a> to watch video lectures featuring Palestinian activists lying about the Jewish state.
<div id="attachment_636333" style="width: 871px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-636333" class="size-large wp-image-636333" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1241326101-861x576.jpg" alt="Tubs of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, manufactured by Unilever Plc, in a freezer at an Iceland Foods Ltd. supermarket in Christchurch, UK, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. &quot;Britain's cost-of-living crisis -- on track to big the biggest squeeze since the mid-70s -- will continue to worsen before it starts to ease at some point next year,&quot; said Jack Leslie, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, a research group campaigning against poverty. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="861" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1241326101-861x576.jpg 861w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1241326101-300x201.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1241326101-768x514.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1241326101.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 861px) 100vw, 861px" />Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
Unilever has pushed to sell the ice cream in Israel and has said it has “never expressed any support” for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BDS</a>) movement, which argues that companies around the world should refrain from doing business with Israel due to the country’s alleged occupation of territory held by Palestinian Arabs.
This past Independence Day, Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s issued the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-jerrys-says-u-s-needs-to-give-back-stolen-land-native-american-chief-says-companys-hq-is-on-native-land" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, &#8220;The United States was founded on stolen Indigenous land. This Fourth of July, let’s commit to returning it.&#8221; The post included a link to a site that calls for Mt. Rushmore to be handed over to Native Americans.
Advertisements for Unilever&#8217;s personal care items, such as Dove soap, have also become <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bodily-mutilation-fat-liberation-is-this-the-wokest-soap-brand-in-the-nation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">infected</a> by woke ideology, pushing things like &#8220;fat liberation&#8221; and body modification for kids who identify as transgender.
Gatorade, owned by PepsiCo, has also co-opted the &#8220;fat liberation&#8221; movement despite advertising itself as &#8220;sports fuel for performance athletes.&#8221; An ad from earlier this year for Gatorade Fit (marketed as a healthier option than regular Gatorade) <a href="https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/jessamyn-stanley-gatorade-advert-fatphobia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">featured</a> obese yoga instructor and &#8220;body positivity advocate&#8221; Jessamyn Stanley.
The Coca-Cola Company came under <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/backlash-hits-coca-cola-after-accusations-of-anti-white-agenda" target="_blank" rel="noopener">severe scrutiny</a> in early 2021 when slides from their &#8220;anti-racism&#8221; training for employees were leaked online. Some slides reportedly instructed participants to “try to be less white.&#8221; The company also planned to implement a diversity quota in which it would only work with law firms that provide at least 15% of billed time from black attorneys. After the backlash, Coca-Cola dropped the diversity plan.
M&amp;M&#8217;s, owned by Mars Incorporated, came under fire in early 2022 for changing the design of its famous &#8220;spokescandies,&#8221; anthropomorphized versions of their products, to become more &#8220;inclusive.&#8221;
The most <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mm-characters-are-becoming-inclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noticeable change</a> was made to the green M&amp;M character, who lost her peach-colored legs and stiletto boots in favor of white legs and sneakers after criticism that the character was sexualized. Mars said it wanted the green M&amp;M to be “better represented to reflect confidence and empowerment, as a strong female, and known for much more than her boots.”
In September 2022, the company <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mms-brand-promises-acceptance-and-inclusivity-with-debut-of-new-purple-spokescandy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a new &#8220;spokescandy,&#8221; a purple M&amp;M, specifically &#8220;designed to represent acceptance and inclusivity,&#8221; drawing further criticism. The backlash became so strong that in January 2023 the brand <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mms-pulls-spokescandies-after-supposed-controversy-sales-dipped-after-going-woke" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an &#8220;indefinite pause&#8221; on using the characters in ads.
<div id="attachment_636341" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-636341" class="size-large wp-image-636341" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1262999657-1-864x576.jpg" alt="Orlando, Winter Park, Rocket Fizz Soda Pop &amp; Candy Shop, variety of M&amp;M candy display. (Photo by: Jeff Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1262999657-1-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1262999657-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1262999657-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1262999657-1.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jeff Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</div>
Another Mars Incorporated candy, Skittles, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/social-media-erupts-after-skittles-black-trans-lives-matter-packaging-goes-viral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnered</a> with GLAAD, an organization that supports radical gender theory, to create special Pride Month packaging for the candy that included slogans like &#8220;Joy Is Resistance&#8221; and &#8220;Black Trans Lives Matter.&#8221;
As part of Pride Month, Skittles promised “to support the LGBTQ+ community by amplifying and celebrating their stories&#8221; and said it will “donate $1 for every Skittles Pride pack sold to GLAAD in support of their ongoing efforts to work through media to combat anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.”
Oreo, owned by Mondelez International, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/your-cookie-must-affirm-your-sexual-lifestyle-oreo-takes-pro-lgbt-stance-in-new-ad-spot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> an ad back in April featuring a young man coming out as gay to his grandmother. There is very little actual product placement in the commercial, focusing almost solely on social messaging.
“Coming out doesn’t happen just once. It’s a journey that needs love and courage every step of the way. Share our new film 👇 and let someone know you’re their #LifelongAlly,&#8221; the caption of the video posted on X said.
“Your cookie must affirm your sexual lifestyle,” Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro quipped. “Again, the chief reply here seems to be: ‘How dare you notice that a cookie company is now running ads on sexual orientation?’ Guys, the story is that every woke corporation now believes it must become an activist LGBTQIA+-%6&amp; outlet. And yes, that’s a story.”
Uncle Ben&#8217;s, owned by Mars Incorporated, and Aunt Jemima, owned by PepsiCo, were both altered in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the subsequent riots <a href="https://www.eater.com/22450623/racist-brand-mascot-logo-changes-aunt-jemima-uncle-bens-land-o-lakes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in order to</a> &#8220;create a more inclusive future.&#8221; Uncle Ben&#8217;s was changed to Ben&#8217;s Original, while Aunt Jemima was rebranded to Pearl Milling Company.
There are non-woke alternatives to some of these products, including <a href="https://www.jeremysrazors.com/collections/jeremys-chocolate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chocolate</a> and <a href="https://www.jeremysrazors.com/collections/hair" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soap</a>, but many small would-be competitors to these giant corporations end up being bought out and joining their portfolio of brands, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/18/america-food-monopoly-crisis-grocery-stores" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Guardian&#8217;s investigation. Anti-trust laws and regulations could be used to block mergers and curb monopolistic practices, and President Joe Biden has called on government agencies to enforce existing laws. But, as with so many other issues in Washington, lobbying and a lack of bipartisan support has stymied attempts at reform.
This illusion of choice in the grocery store not only hinders free market competition, it also impedes the effectiveness of any potential boycott launched by conservatives to protest these companies&#8217; political stunts. Both the corporate and ideological monopoly held by these companies ensures that conservative customers will have fewer and fewer options for products that don&#8217;t push leftist ideologies.
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General Mills and Quaker Cereal aisle in Publix, grocery store, Florida

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Shareholders for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kellogg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kellogg</a> Company are scheduled to vote Friday on a proposal to audit the multinational food conglomerate’s adherence to the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement, also known as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DEI</a>, and return the company to hiring and promotion decisions based on merit.
The proposal, which the board of directors recommended that shareholders oppose, would launch an examination of the company’s DEI initiatives with an ideologically diverse and independent group of employees, shareholders, and third-party entities. The <a href="https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000055067/50efe15c-ba6d-41bb-851f-cb722470d7b9.pdf#page=74" target="_blank" rel="noopener">text</a> of the proposal noted that the Kellogg Company has “allocated significant resources and attention towards implementing social justice into workplace practices” through commitments to the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>.
“Across the political spectrum, all agree that employee success should be fostered and that no employees should face discrimination, but there is much disagreement about what nondiscrimination means,” the proposal said. “In practice, what ‘equity’ really means is the distribution of pay and authority on the basis of race, sex, orientation and ethnic categories rather than by merit.”
Increasing the percentage of females or racial minorities in corporate workforces are indeed objectives often pursued by firms with DEI initiatives or dedication to the ESG movement. Both philosophies have rapidly grown in prominence among leading companies in recent years, even as skeptics contend that they mingle political and social causes with core business objectives in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability.
The shareholder proposal, which called for a “return to merits,” noted that firms across a number of industries, from Verizon and Pfizer to American Express and CVS, have implemented similar policies despite the likelihood of overt discrimination against qualified staff members.
Executives at the Kellogg Company have <a href="https://betterdays.kelloggcompany.com/equity-diversity-inclusion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> to achieve a global management team equally composed of men and women by the end of 2025 and ensure that one-quarter of American managers come from underrepresented racial groups over the same time horizon. Kellogg Company Chief Diversity Officer Samantha Thomas-Berry recently <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kellogg-company-moves-closer-to-achieving-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-goals-301792133.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lauded</a> the firm’s progress toward the goals and asserted that executives will successfully impose “more balanced representation in our leadership.&#8221;
“Such programs have raised significant objections, including the concern that the programs and practices themselves are deeply racist, sexist, otherwise discriminatory, and potentially in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” the proposal continued. “By devaluing merit, corporations have sacrificed employee competence and morale, and therefore productivity, to the altar of ‘diversity.’ These practices create massive reputational, legal and financial risk.”
Increased tumult in the economy has increased skepticism toward the ESG movement among some managers and investors. ESG funds <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virtue-signaling-isnt-free-how-woke-investing-fell-apart-once-the-economy-got-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered</a> amid last year’s underperformance among technology firms, which ESG investors tend to favor because of their emphasis on corporate social responsibility, and overperformance among energy companies, which ESG managers tend to shirk because of their dislike for industries with heavy carbon emissions.
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Americans are broadly skeptical of the ESG movement’s core assumptions and desire that the companies in which they invest abstain from forwarding ideological objectives favored by executives. An exclusive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> conducted by The Daily Wire last year showed that 58% of respondents opposed companies leveraging their financial power for political or social means, an approach to company operations which 29% of respondents supported.

Kellogg’s

Kellogg Shareholders Will Vote On Auditing Company’s Diversity Initiatives And Returning ‘To Merits’

Kellogg Shareholders Will Vote On Auditing Company's Diversity Initiatives

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Cellphone video has emerged showing a disgruntled Kellogg&#8217;s factory worker in Memphis, Tennessee, peeing directly on the assembly line where their food is processed. Warning: the video above is censored but still graphic.
A spokesman for Kellogg&#8217;s says they are &#8220;outraged&#8221; by the incident that they believe occurred in 2014. Local news <a href="http://wreg.com/2016/03/12/video-surfaces-of-man-peeing-on-assembly-line-at-memphis-kellogg-facility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WREG </a>reports that this timing would overlap with a &#8220;a nasty labor dispute&#8221; at the factory that had employees &#8220;locked out&#8221; for months.
Kellogg&#8217;s official statement on the incident below:
<blockquote>Kellogg takes this situation very seriously and we were shocked and deeply disappointed by this video that we just learned of yesterday. We immediately alerted law enforcement authorities and regulators. A criminal investigation is underway as well as a thorough internal investigation.
Our investigation revealed that the video was recorded at our Memphis, TN facility, in 2014. Products that could have been affected were Rice Krispies Treats, Rice Krispies Treats cereal and puffed rice cake products, all of which would be past the expiration date.
Food quality is of the utmost importance to Kellogg Company . We are outraged by this completely unacceptable situation, and we will work closely with authorities to prosecute to the full extent of the law.</blockquote>
And while there&#8217;s no recall to be done because those products have likely been consumed already, the FDA has proceeded with its criminal investigation.
Paul Norman, the president of Kellogg North America, said in a statement, &#8220;Many dedicated people on our Memphis team spent countless hours examining the video and identified differences between the line in the video and the current line, which enabled us to confirm that the video was actually filmed in 2014.&#8221;
Many customers are worried about the potential of getting sick from the contaminated food. Dr. Mark Castellaw told WREG, &#8220;The one that you would be concerned with the most is any kind of STD that could be transmitted through bodily fluid like that,&#8221; but he adds that there&#8217;s no need to panic because if the cereal caused illness we would know about it by now.
Click below for an interview with consumers and Dr. Castellaw&#8230;
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<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qQoJM-r4pmM?feature=oembed" width="480" height="270" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>

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‘The Food Babe’ Vani Hari’s MAHA Mission To Remove Chemicals From Food

Practically Everything You Buy At The Grocery Store Is Owned By A Few Woke Companies

Kellogg Shareholders Will Vote On Auditing Company’s Diversity Initiatives And Returning ‘To Merits’

Meet The Charming Fellow Who Almost Literally Peed In People’s Corn Flakes