Could Texas be Banning Kellogg’s from All Public Schools?

Sometimes it's amazing to learn what you don't know. Like when the whole TikTok controversy first began, I didn't realize that China serves up a very different version of TikTok to their children and youth than the one that's offered in the US.

The TikTok Chinese children see is vastly different from the TikTok the rest of the world sees.

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Tristan Harris, the co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology told CBS's 60 Minutes:

“In their version of TikTok, if you’re under 14 years old, they show you science experiments you can do at home, patriotism videos and educational videos. They make their domestic version a spinach version while they’ve shipped the opium version to the rest of the world.” 

Interesting, but I digress.  I also just recently discovered that one of my favorite companies of my childhood has been selling a different version of their cereals in the US, than the versions they ship to other countries.  And the difference is because of our own federal food safety laws.

Did You Know Kellogg's Cereals Have Different Versions Worldwide?

It turns out that Kellogg's version of popular breakfast cereals like Froot Loops sold in the US contain higher concentrations of artificial food dyes or carcinogenic preservatives than versions sold to other countries.  

The Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services recently to discuss a variety of topics, and one of those topics was ways to encourage food production companies to create healthier options for Texas consumers. 

 HumanCo founder and CEO Jason Karp testified, pushing for Texas to ban Kellogg's "and any other anti-American companies" from public entities, including schools statewide.  

"Very few Americans know that Kellogg's sells a safer version of their cereals, without artificial food dyes or carcinogenic preservatives, in other countries," Karp said.  

 

According to Karp's testimony, Kellogg's claims "American children prefer the brighter colors, and they will continue selling the more toxic version," as long as current laws are unchanged.  You can see a portion of Karp's testimony below.

I'm not an advocate of any government telling its populace "how to live", but I do see the advantage of trying to help people make wiser choices.