Welcome to the theater of absurdity.

While the federal government waves the flag of victory over removing petroleum-based food dyes from snacks, it is simultaneously gutting critical public health programs like food inspection, bird flu monitoring, injury prevention initiatives, and scientific research grants. The result? A dazzling case study in misplaced priorities.

Today, let's walk through what is actually happening — not the headline-friendly soundbites — and why Americans should be far more worried about E. coli in their milk than Red Dye #3 in their Skittles.

The Food Dye Fear Mongering: What's Actually True?

First, let's address the food dye hysteria head-on. Many news outlets, "wellness influencers," and natural health bloggers are breathlessly claiming that we are "eating petroleum" because some food dyes are synthesized from hydrocarbon molecules derived initially from crude oil.

Here’s the scientific truth: petroleum-derived hydrocarbons are nothing more than basic building blocks of carbon and hydrogen — the same stuff that makes up olive oil, avocado oil, and the omega-3 fatty acids you proudly add to your smoothies. [1]

Importantly, food dyes like Red 40 and Yellow 5 are purified and rigorously tested substances. They are chemically synthesized from hydrocarbons, not "extracted gasoline." Saying Red 40 is gasoline is like saying salt is explosive because it contains sodium. It's chemophobic nonsense.

Meanwhile, many of the same people yelling about food dyes are promoting supplements like methylene blue — another petroleum-derived chemical. Cognitive dissonance, much?

Reference:

1. ImmunoLogic. (2025). "No, You're Not Eating Gasoline." Retrieved from https://news.immunologic.org

Meanwhile, in the Real World: Food Safety Programs Are Being Gutted

Now, while we're distracted by the horror of neon cupcakes, something far more dangerous is happening. Funding for critical public health initiatives is being slashed:

• Food inspection programs are being downgraded and shifted from federal oversight to inconsistent state programs.
• Bird flu monitoring — crucial in an era of rising zoonotic diseases — is being slashed.
• Injury prevention programs — those that track traumatic brain injury, car crashes, drownings, and falls — are being dismantled.

According to reporting from Food Safety News, the Trump Administration's proposed budget would cut $128 million from the FDA’s food safety programs alone — programs that help prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness like the 2018 E. coli outbreak tied to romaine lettuce. [2]

Reference: 2. Food Safety News. (2025). "FDA food safety funding faces big cuts." Retrieved from https://www.foodsafetynews.com

Leadership Matters: Enter RFK Jr.

You might ask, "Who’s steering this ship into the iceberg?" None other than Robert F. Kennedy Jr., head of Health and Human Services.

There’s a small problem: RFK Jr. never took a single science course during his undergraduate education — at least, none we can find. Yet he is now in charge of overseeing agencies that depend on scientific literacy, from the CDC to the FDA.

No wonder policy is being dictated by what makes Instagram wellness bloggers like "Food Babe" happy. Forget investing in scientific infrastructure to actually prevent disease. Apparently, public health is now about making sure your lettuce won't "run away with your colon."

And the Hypocrisy Continues: Milk and Metabolic Disease

While politicians play "Whac-a-Mole" with food dyes, real nutritional science continues to quietly reveal important risks — like the health consequences of dietary fat.

A recent study in BMC Gastroenterology found that frequent consumption of full-fat milk is associated with a higher risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). [3]

Surprisingly, this association was especially strong among people with higher education levels. So yes, your $7 artisanal organic whole-milk latte might be sneaking you toward fatty liver — one creamy sip at a time.

Yet without adequate public health research funding, follow-up studies that could clarify mechanisms, confounders, and long-term risk could evaporate. The death of science isn't just about laboratories; it's about the slow, steady starvation of research that actually improves human health.

Reference: 3. BMC Gastroenterology. (2025). "Non-skimmed milk and MAFLD." Retrieved from https://bmcgastroenterology.biomedcentral.com

Transitional Moment: So, What Are We Prioritizing?

Instead of investing in:

• Safer food systems
• More robust disease tracking
• Cutting-edge nutritional science

We are prioritizing:

• Removing artificial colors that haven't been linked to deaths
• Slashing foodborne illness monitoring
• Hiring a non-scientist to oversee our nation's health apparatus

This is a classic case of "health theater"— grand, performative actions with little substance while real threats simmer under the surface.

Why Should You Care?

Because someday, when the next E. coli outbreak rips across 15 states, you might wish someone had prioritized pathogen monitoring instead of neon cupcakes.

Because someday, when another zoonotic virus jumps from animals to humans, you might wish someone had protected our bird flu surveillance systems.

Because someday, when your "healthy" full-fat latte quietly leads you toward metabolic disease, you might wish public health research had been better funded.

This isn’t hypothetical. It’s happening. Right now.

Closing Thoughts: Welcome to America 2025

In the final analysis, food dyes aren’t the enemy. Ignorance is.

Real public health work is boring. It involves spreadsheets, bacterial cultures, inspections, and endless grant applications. It doesn't make splashy headlines or Instagram-worthy memes.

But it saves lives. Quietly. Consistently. Effectively.

Today, we’re watching that entire system be sacrificed on the altar of viral outrage.

So the next time you eat a slightly less vibrant Froot Loop, take a moment to appreciate the irony: you might survive the Red Dye #3... but good luck surviving the E. coli smoothie no one inspected.

Stay skeptical. Stay curious. Fork responsibly.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Welcome back to 4Q, the podcast where.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: We make sense of food, health and the madness of government.

Priorities armed, um, only with science,

sarcasm.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: And a blood pressure cuff.

I'm Dr. Terry Simpson, your chief medical

explanationist, and this is Fork U

Fork University, where we make sense of the

madness, bust a few myths, and teach you a

little bit about food and medicine.

And today, we're talking about the

grand performance of banning petroleum based food

dyes while gutting the science that can

actually save lives.

First, let's tackle the food dye

panic. The headlines scream you're

eating petroleum. Let's calm down and

use some chemistry. Petroleum and isn't

gasoline.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: It's ancient dead plankton turned into

hydrocarbons. The same carbon and

hydrogen building blocks.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Found in avocado oil, olive oil, and.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: The Omega 3 supplements you love.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Food dyes like Red 40 are

purified.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Mostly tested molecules made safely from those

hydrocarbons. Saying you're eating gasoline

because Red 40 comes from hydrocarbons is

like saying you're eating explosives because table

salt contain sodium. And the

best part, the same people

screaming about petroleum in food dyes are

happily swallowing methylene blue, also

made from petroleum derivatives.

So are your vitamins. Science.

It's not just when it's convenient.

You're not eating gasoline. You're eating

molecules, some tested for safety

that just happens to come from ancient

carbon. Meanwhile, in the real

world, while we celebrate dye free

gummies, the federal government is slashing public health

funding, including food inspection programs,

bird flu monitoring, injury

prevention initiatives, research

grants that fund actual nutrition and

safety studies. We're setting ourselves up for

dirtier food, slower outbreak

responses, and a world where emerging public

health threats don't get studied because we blew the budget

keeping cupcakes slightly less neon.

And who's in charge of this science? Heavy decision

making. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The

man who, as far as anyone can find, never

took a single science course

in college. Naturally, he's now in charge of

the agency that oversees America's scientific

backbone.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: But, hey, he's doing exactly what he.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Was hired to do. Advocate for things that make food

babe and the Instagram wellness crowd happy.

Forget real science. Forget investing in

systems that keep our food, water and people safe. As long

as lettuce doesn't run away with your colon, everything's

great. Also in real science, milk might

not be so innocent. A recent study found that full fat

milk consumption is associated with a higher.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Risk of developing metabolic dysfunction associated with

fatty liver disease.

If you're keeping track of acronyms and you shouldn't

particularly among highly educated populations.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: I know it's correlation.

You know that $7 full fat latte

might be sneaking toward your fatty liver

one creamy sip at a time. And here's the real

kicker. We desperately need more follow up and research

on findings like these. But if we keep cutting scientific

grants to wage war on brightly colored cereal, don't

expect many answers anytime soon. So

next time you hear about a major public health victory because artificial

yellow.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Dye got banned, just remember, you might.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Dodge the neon cupcake, but you'll still.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Be dodging pathogens, unsafe, um, milk

and.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Preventable diseases with fewer

scientists left to catch them.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: This podcast was written and researched by me, Dr. Terri

Simpson.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: And while I am a board certified.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: MD, which frankly gives me more credentials and Robert F.

Kennedy Jr. I am not your

MD.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: This podcast is for medical education and entertainment

purposes only.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: If you need a personal medical advice, please consult

a real board certified physician. Not a

chiropractor, not an eastern trained shaman,

and definitely not some random YouTube guru

or RFK Junior 4Q is

distributed by our friends at Simpler Media and made possible

by the pod God himself, Mr.

Evo Tara. And

remember, stay skeptical, stay

curious, and always fork

responsibly.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Nivo.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: I guess we have to have those.

>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Dull Canadian Fruit Loops. You know, in

Canada they allow all of those colors. They

just like their Fruit Loops

dull. I don't get it.

>> Speaker C: Yeah, I'm pretty sure you've outgrown the fruit

loops stage, Dr. Simpson.

Anyhow, Canada and food

poutine. I don't really care what it's made of,

it's delicious.