7 Ways 'The Food Babe' Spectacularly Fails To Grasp Science
1. So What Does She Want?
It’s actually really hard to figure out what she’s up to. If anyone has any ideas, do let us know in the comments.
She sells books, yes, and makes money from her claims, but so many of her claims are seemingly random that perhaps they genuinely seem to come from a place of fear and ignorance - in which case she is not qualified to be handing out advice.
If on the other hand, they're coming from a slightly darker place of a hunger for power, influence and money, then she's definitely not the person to be handing out health advice. Either way, it doesn't come from a world of facts and science.
It’s hard to argue with someone who is trying to encourage people to eat more salad, but it’s her methods that really get people’s backs up.
The companies bow to public pressure because they live and die by public support, they never acknowledge that her claims are true, they just do it for a quiet life. Maybe she just gets a kick out of making big companies do what she says, maybe she just knows it's a good way to get a big media following in a post-facts society, but it's not based on research, as a lot of this stuff is high-school science.
Let’s be clear, I do actually agree with the idea that we should be avoiding eating too much processed food, no one can deny that wholewheat toast is better for you than birthday cake. We should think about what we eat - I read labels, I try not to eat so much meat, I try to use as many fresh ingredients as possible and I do some mad crunchy hippy yoga sh*t every once in a while because stretching feels nice.
The issues are pretty complicated, but Ms. Hari is not helping by distracting you with the monsters under your bed.
If science makes your brain box tingle, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to stay up to date.
Further Reading:
The Food Babe Is Full Of Sh*t - Gawker
Why the Food Babe is wrong (it’s not just because she’s ignorant) - Science Blogs
The Food Babe Way: 21 days To An Eating Disorder - SciBabe
Don’t tell Food Babe there are no goldfish in goldfish crackers - Insufferable Intolerance