RFK Jr. Announces Plan To Ban Synthetic Food Dyes
Plus: Global Catholicism shifts to Latin America, celebrating Earth Day, & the time Nixon met Clinton
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Good afternoon,
And Happy Earth Day! It was first celebrated on April 22, 1970 and meant to spark national awareness about air and water pollution.
U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI) was inspired by anti-war protests on college campuses, and wanted to infuse the same energy into environmental action. He organized campus teach-ins and chose April 22 because it fell between students’ spring break and finals.
On the first Earth Day, 20 million Americans participated in rallies, clean-ups, and workshops.
It also helped lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency later that year.
Here are some recommendations from the UN on ways to help keep our planet beautiful — we’ve only got the one!
Lauren
Producer
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🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING
RFK Jr. Plans Nationwide Ban On Eight Food Dyes — What That Could Look Like
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is moving to remove eight petroleum-based dyes from food by the end of 2026. Kennedy has been given wide authority by President Trump to combat chronic disease in America and overhaul the food system through his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, and has long criticized synthetic food dyes.
On Tuesday, he said of food companies: “If they want to eat petroleum, they ought to add it themselves at home — they shouldn't be feeding it to the rest of us without our knowledge or consent.” He added that other food additives are on the chopping block next.
STATE OF PLAY
There are currently 36 color additives approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for use in food, including nine synthetic dyes. The Biden administration moved to ban one of those — Red No. 3 — from foods by 2027, following studies that high doses of it caused cancer in rats. There are no studies confirming it causes cancer in humans.
West Virginia and California have also passed laws banning food dyes from school lunches.
Last month, Kennedy met with major American food companies and told them he wants synthetic dyes out of products by the end of his four-year term.
Kennedy, alongside FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, also announced Tuesday that the FDA will be approving four additional natural dyes in the coming days.
The plan is based on voluntary cooperation from food companies and currently functions more as a recommendation, as there are no formal agreements or enforcement mechanisms in place due to the lack of legislation or changes to authorization.
THE ISSUE
Studies suggest that vibrant colors make food more appealing. The health effects of artificial dyes are not fully understood; but at high doses, several have been linked to hyperactivity and behavioral issues in children. Critics of synthetic dyes, like Kennedy, point to food brands in other countries that use blueberries and carrots to dye foods bright colors instead.
In the fall, Mo News spoke with Dr. Jess Steier, a public health expert who hosts The Unbiased Science Podcast. She noted that most of the concern around food dye is based on data from a small set of preclinical studies — meaning, testing on rats or mice at exposure levels 100,000x the magnitude of exposure that humans would have.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU
Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, told Mo News Tuesday that while the FDA's move to ban synthetic food dyes will be a multi-year process, many manufacturers already use natural alternatives in countries where such dyes are banned.
He asked, why should Americans risk potential behavioral or health issues when these dyes serve no nutritional purpose or preservative function — just to make food look brighter and more appealing?
Other scientists say there isn’t enough evidence to link these dyes to health risks and there is no reason to ban them.
Dr. Frederic Bertley, a leading science educator, told NBC that bans on dyes could increase grocery prices. “Finding those natural products and using those natural products are just more expensive,” he said.
🚨 ONE THING TO UPDATE
Details About The Pope’s Funeral; The State of Global Catholicism
First image released by the Vatican of Pope Francis’ body after his Monday death.
More news from the Vatican: Pope Francis' funeral will be Saturday at 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) at St. Peter's Basilica — less than a week after the pontiff died from a stroke and heart failure on Monday morning at the age of 88.
Some of his last words were reportedly to thank his personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, for encouraging him to greet crowds on Easter Sunday, according to the Vatican.
Around 6:30 a.m. Monday morning, he reportedly waved to Strappetti from his bed as "a gesture of farewell," before falling into a coma. He was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Francis had been weak since returning from a five week hospital stay battling double pneumonia earlier this year.
THE CHURCH HE LEAVES BEHIND
Pope Francis was known for reforming the makeup of the Council of Cardinals to include better representation from Africa and Latin America, where the majority of the world’s Catholics now live. In the past century, Europe’s Catholic population has dwindled, though the region is still overrepresented on the Council of Cardinals.
Latin America: 41% of Catholics worldwide live in the Latin America-Caribbean region. Brazil has the largest Catholic population in the world. But new data from Pew Research shows that many Catholics in Latin America are leaving the faith for Protestant churches.
Europe: The continent went from 65% of the world’s Catholics in 1910, down to 21% today. The declining rate mirrors trends among all Christians, on top of the continent’s stalling birth rate.
Asia & Africa: Catholicism has significantly risen on both continents over the last century. Two leading contenders for the papacy are from the Philippines and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
North America: The Catholic share of the population is about 7%, down from 8% in 2010, amid an ongoing trend of Americans leaving organized religion.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Supreme Court likely to decide that parents can opt out of children reading LGBTQ+ books in schools (NPR)
📌 Wife of former US Sen. Bob Menendez convicted in bribery scheme (AP)
📌 Mahmoud Khalil’s wife gives birth after ICE denied him temporary release to attend the delivery (CNN)
📌 White House says U.S. is "setting the stage" on potential trade deal with China (AXIOS)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Putin suggests that Russia open to talks with Ukraine as war continues (BBC)
📌 Man missing after rare shark attack in Israel (BBC)
📌 Gunmen open fire on tourists in Himalayan region, killing at least 26 people, police say (CNN)
📌 Trump tariffs will undercut U.S. growth and drag the world down, IMF says (AXIOS)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Gold tops $3,500 an ounce as Trump attack on Fed shakes confidence in U.S. (CNBC)
📌 Walgreens to pay $300 million to settle claims it illegally filled invalid opioids prescriptions (CBS)
📌 The executive producer of 60 Minutes quits, citing lack of independence from Paramount (YAHOO)
📌 Owl takes pawn. Duolingo will soon start teaching chess. (USA TODAY)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Films made with A.I. are eligible for Oscar’s, Academy decides (BBC)
📌 Larry David mocks Bill Maher's meeting with Trump as 'My Dinner with Adolf' in NYT satire (FOX)
📌 Tina Knowles reveals breast cancer diagnosis, says missed mammogram may have delayed detection (CBS)
📌 Tennis great Andre Agassi to play his first pro pickleball tournament with No. 1 player Waters (CNBC)
ICYMI FROM THE 📲
In case you missed it from the internet… Ever wish you could be a fly on the wall during meetings between the world’s most powerful people? Newly released footage from the Clinton Presidential Library offers just that — capturing the first meeting between former Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton at the White House in 1993, just weeks into Clinton’s first term.
Despite their generational and ideological differences, Nixon reportedly saw a kindred spirit in the young Democrat — both men from humble beginnings who rebounded from scandal and political defeat to win the presidency.
Breaking his usual practice of not advising successors, Nixon urged Clinton to increase aid to Russia in the wake of the Cold War.
It has been reported that then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, who had helped investigate Nixon during the Watergate hearings, may have attempted to block the meeting.
Nixon died the following year, in 1994 — ultimately never witnessing Clinton’s impeachment, which became the most significant presidential scandal since Watergate.