It is all over the news. “There has been a huge shift away from processed foods in the U.S. and larger food producers are trying to follow their customers in that direction.” McDonalds is going to chicken without hormones. Now Kraft has announced that, “Kraft Mac & Cheese [is]shedding the dyes,” according to an article in the Miami Herald April 20, 2015. “This is the last year that the original version of Kraft Mac & Cheese sold in the U.S. will contain artificial preservatives or synthetic colors.
. . .Kraft said that its other macaroni and cheese varieties sold in the U.S., such as Shapes Cups, Original Cups, Premium Flavors and Easy Mac will have no artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors later next year.”
How did it happen that Kraft was “moved” to join the bandwagon? “A Change.org petition begun in March 2013 by food activist Vani Hari, who blogs as the “Food Babe,” asked Kraft to remove dyes from its macaroni and cheese. The petition garnered more than 365,000 signatures.”
365,000 people is a lot of people, and they all found change.org. Curious about change.org, I went on the internet. It seems Kraft is now the subject of another change.org petition. “Kraft removes controversial “Kids Eat Right” label from packaging. Thousands of dietitians and nutritionists signed a petition calling on Kraft to remove a “health” label from their processed cheese product. After nearly 12,000 signatures, Kraft pulled the label.” Yes, this Grandma agrees, cheese food is not cheese. However, it seems to this Grandma that 12,000 is not 365,000 and Kraft might have gotten concerned that if they waited any longer the number of signatures would jump and the negative publicity on two products might be too much to bear. That gives change.org great power and gave this Grandma concern as to the consequences of participating in a change.org petition.
Anyone can start a petition on change.org for a worthy cause. But, searching further, this Grandma found more to be careful about change.com on forbes.com .
“The service is free, and with a name like Change.org the company even sounds like a not-for-profit. But it’s not. It was founded in 2007 and spent the better part of two years flailing around for a profitable business model until Rattray hit upon a clever approach. Change.org charges groups for the privilege of sponsoring petitions that are matched to users who have similar interests. For example, when a person signs a petition about education and clicks “submit,” a box pops up and shows five sponsored petitions on education to also sign. If a user leaves a box checked that says “Keep me updated on this campaign and others,” the sponsor can then send e-mails directly to that person. It’s not clear from the check box that your e-mail address is being sold to a not-for-profit. Rattray says an imminent site redesign will make the company’s business model more transparent. Change.org has 300 paying clients, including Sierra Club, Credo Wireless and Amnesty International, and its revenue so far this year is $15 million.”
“Some of the petitioners FORBES spoke with didn’t know Change was a for-profit. Rattray says the .org connotes the company’s social mission, and it is a certified B Corporation, which means a social mission is written into its bylaws. But he acknowledges the messaging could be better and plans to improve it: “We need to be better about telling about that combination.”
Now this Grandma who has cynicism about what we are feeding ourselves and the grandchildren must also have cynicism about those who seem to have solutions to the ills we are concerned about.
Thanks to the internet, we can be educated consumers. I think the lesson here is to also teach grandchildren to be educated consumers, and when the “new” Kraft Mac & Cheese comes on the market, to maybe have a discussion about how this happened and to be careful that “.org” does not necessarily mean we can trust the website not to sell our information to others or to be not-for-profit.
Will the “new” Kraft Mac & Cheese be the “go to” product as well? When this Grandma does not know what will whet the grandchildren’s palate, a favorite standby is always Kraft Mac & Cheese. Although this Grandma tries not to have it hurt her feelings, sometimes the grandchildren prefer it and ask for it over my own Mac & Cheese! I keep containers of the single serving original flavor microwave cups on hand always. I think I must have at least a half dozen in the pantry at any one time.
The grandchildren are very particular. They only like the original flavor and the original shape when it comes to Kraft Mac & Cheese. “In January, Kraft says its macaroni and cheese will be colored using paprika, annatto and turmeric.”
This Grandma knows that GG (great grandmother) always used paprika for color, and so does this Grandma, the rare times I cook rather than “make reservations.” However, “annatto’ is new to me. So, of course, I went back to the internet. “Annatto dye is an orange-yellow food coloring extracted from the seeds of the tree Bixa orellana. It is commonly used in cheeses, snack foods, beverages, and cereals,” according to a blurb on google. I found it is used in Goldfish, a staple for grandchildren. However, there is concern about annatto too, especially with children with allergies, autism, or hyperactivity according to blogs, and there are side effects, as with everything. “No artificial flavors” means different things to different people.
The Kraft company says the taste should not change. We shall see when the “experts,” the grandchildren, taste the new Kraft Mac & Cheese.
This Grandma still hasn’t decided what to do with all of the food additive containing boxes and microwave cups of Kraft Mac & Cheese in the pantry. . . .
Joy,
Mema
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