I want to better understand the "Crunchy MAGA" right wing wellness phenomenon

[Anonymous]

The European Union (EU) has stricter food safety and additive regulations compared to countries like the U.S., which results in some common American food ingredients being banned or heavily restricted in European foods. Here are key additives and ingredients typically not found (or tightly controlled) in EU foods:

1. Artificial Food Dyes (Certain Ones)

Banned or restricted:
• Yellow #5 (Tartrazine)
• Yellow #6 (Sunset Yellow)
• Red #40
• Blue #1 and Blue #2

In the EU, these dyes must carry warning labels if used, which has led many manufacturers to replace them with natural colorings like beet juice, turmeric, or paprika extract.

2. Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO)
• Used in citrus-flavored sodas in the U.S. (e.g., Mountain Dew).
• Banned in the EU due to concerns over bromine buildup in the body, which may affect the nervous system and thyroid.

3. Potassium Bromate
• A dough conditioner used in commercial bread-making in the U.S.
• Banned in the EU because it is a possible human carcinogen.

4. rBGH / rBST (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone)
• Growth hormone used in dairy cows to increase milk production.
• Banned in the EU since 1999 due to animal welfare concerns and potential health risks.

5. Azodicarbonamide (ADA)
• A bleaching agent and dough conditioner found in some breads and fast food buns.
• Banned in the EU because it can break down into carcinogenic byproducts like urea and semicarbazide.

6. Synthetic Preservatives (Some Types)
• BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene): used to preserve fats and cereals.
• Banned or restricted in the EU due to potential links to cancer and endocrine disruption.

7. GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms)
• Heavily restricted. Any GMO-containing products must be clearly labeled in the EU, and many EU countries ban GMO cultivation outright.

8. Titanium Dioxide (E171)
• Used as a whitening agent in candies and toothpaste.
• Banned in the EU since 2022 because of its potential DNA-damaging effects.

9. Certain Artificial Sweeteners
• Some sweeteners like Cyclamate are banned in the U.S. but allowed in the EU in limited quantities, while others like Saccharin are allowed but more tightly regulated in Europe

Also for the defenders of bureaucracy:

In most of Europe, direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs is prohibited by law. This is a major contrast with the United States and New Zealand, the only two developed countries that allow it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the very short line from wellness influencer to right-wing nutjob has been around for a long while. I think it's a need for individualist control and a lack of interest in others or the collective.

Also, the line from wellness influencer to any kind of cult member (right wing or left) has been around for a long time. Yogi Tea? Hari Krishna? Name the next ten products / businesses that are allied with cults you can think of? Whether the cult is on the left or the right, joining one is about wanting a sense of belonging, of being in the club and of being part of a group that helps you make sense of a crazy, individualistic country that is clearly going in the wrong direction in a lot of ways.

MAGA is first and foremost a cult. So is MAHA. They joined together. Neither is logical. Neither is mainstream.

[Anonymous]

Yawn. So what is the current administration planning to do about the PFAs in our water, farming soil, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The European Union (EU) has stricter food safety and additive regulations compared to countries like the U.S., which results in some common American food ingredients being banned or heavily restricted in European foods. Here are key additives and ingredients typically not found (or tightly controlled) in EU foods:

1. Artificial Food Dyes (Certain Ones)

Banned or restricted:
• Yellow #5 (Tartrazine)
• Yellow #6 (Sunset Yellow)
• Red #40
• Blue #1 and Blue #2

In the EU, these dyes must carry warning labels if used, which has led many manufacturers to replace them with natural colorings like beet juice, turmeric, or paprika extract.

2. Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO)
• Used in citrus-flavored sodas in the U.S. (e.g., Mountain Dew).
• Banned in the EU due to concerns over bromine buildup in the body, which may affect the nervous system and thyroid.

3. Potassium Bromate
• A dough conditioner used in commercial bread-making in the U.S.
• Banned in the EU because it is a possible human carcinogen.

4. rBGH / rBST (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone)
• Growth hormone used in dairy cows to increase milk production.
• Banned in the EU since 1999 due to animal welfare concerns and potential health risks.

5. Azodicarbonamide (ADA)
• A bleaching agent and dough conditioner found in some breads and fast food buns.
• Banned in the EU because it can break down into carcinogenic byproducts like urea and semicarbazide.

6. Synthetic Preservatives (Some Types)
• BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene): used to preserve fats and cereals.
• Banned or restricted in the EU due to potential links to cancer and endocrine disruption.

7. GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms)
• Heavily restricted. Any GMO-containing products must be clearly labeled in the EU, and many EU countries ban GMO cultivation outright.

8. Titanium Dioxide (E171)
• Used as a whitening agent in candies and toothpaste.
• Banned in the EU since 2022 because of its potential DNA-damaging effects.

9. Certain Artificial Sweeteners
• Some sweeteners like Cyclamate are banned in the U.S. but allowed in the EU in limited quantities, while others like Saccharin are allowed but more tightly regulated in Europe

Also for the defenders of bureaucracy:

In most of Europe, direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs is prohibited by law. This is a major contrast with the United States and New Zealand, the only two developed countries that allow it.

Meh, get back to me when the MAHA administration regulates environmental contamination like Europe. They have the complete opposite approach at EPA. Food dyes are a distraction while they pull the rug out from under us with regard to environmental chemicals that get into our farming, water and food. But sure let's rant about dyes (some other dyes of which EU allows while the US bans)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yawn. So what is the current administration planning to do about the PFAs in our water, farming soil, etc?

Exactly. I'm all for regulating hormone disrupters, pharmaceutical advertising and food dyes. Trump is destroying the government agencies and system (and legal basis) that would do these things. He's pushing us further away from meeting your movement's goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yawn. So what is the current administration planning to do about the PFAs in our water, farming soil, etc?

Exactly. I'm all for regulating hormone disrupters, pharmaceutical advertising and food dyes. Trump is destroying the government agencies and system (and legal basis) that would do these things. He's pushing us further away from meeting your movement's goals.

I see MAHA influencers posting about food dyes. I have yet to see a single MAHA influencer video about PFAs. Oh, the irony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a crunchy wellness person. I'm a vegan, I live in Takoma Park, grow a lot of my own food, and I do yoga. I am vaccinated but skeptical of Big Pharma, I tend to use medications as a last resort if lifestyle modifications don't work.

I want to learn more about the people who agree with Trump and RFK's MAHA movement. I'm trying to make this a friendly question although I can't help but point out the logical inconsistencies.

For example - you want to get chemicals out of food and water - me too! So why do you vote for the party that wants to deregulate industries?
You're skeptical of Big Pharma - me too! But do you think Republicans don't take donations from pharmaceutical companies?

What about the environment? Most yogis that I practice with are very cognizant of climate change and sustainability and protecting wildlife. I would also agree with criticisms from the right about the global scale climate initiatives being a lot of feel-good greenwashing, and that wealthy elites are hypocrites when they fly on private jets to a climate conference. So does this mean throw the baby out with the bathwater and Drill, Baby, Drill? And allow corporations to pollute everything?

I also agree that obesity is a problem and that we should eat healthier. Again, why do you feel Republicans are the people to make this happen? Especially when their standard-bearer is obese himself? To be quite frank, a lot of this attitude I'm seeing seems to be less about Make America Healthy Again, but more making it an individualistic superiority complex about shaming people without the resources to live healthier (they live in food deserts, have long commutes and sit at multiple jobs all day, cannot afford a single family home to have their own gardens, etc) and bragging about your own ability to be healthy, rather than enabling the (gasp) government to make it easier for people to be healthy?

People can be into health and wellness and belong to either political party.

"Crunchy maga" as a thing gained steam during the pandemic when Dem officials closed gyms and kept mcdonald's and liquor stores open, liberal leaning outlets started linking working out to being alt right and lefty media were screaming at people to take an experimental gene therapy made by companies who are constantly having to pay out for making products that injured/killed people--that underwent a longer testing period than said gene therapy.

People for whom health freedom was absolutely #1 felt themselves pushed to one side. To them, you can't have any real freedom if you don't have the freedom to refuse an injection. They also noticed how that one trump official was roundly denounced for suggesting that there were behavioral changes people could make to increase their ability to fight the novel virus.

In the end, blindly believing and supporting any political party is a fool's game. Don't gaslight yourself into defending and assuming good motives when team A does something that you would think was a bad idea if team B did it.

None of these parties care about you. Remain vigilant and hold to your principles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They tend to be undereducated and struggling to grasp scientific concepts. They don’t like to feel stupid so they cling to conspiracy theories.

MAHA backs the food additive regulations in Europe and California. Are Europeans and the California government stupid and under educated?

I'd gently suggest that there actually are areas where the left and MAGA could have common ground, and this could be one of them. Science *does* suggest these chemicals are harmful to health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yawn. So what is the current administration planning to do about the PFAs in our water, farming soil, etc?

Exactly. I'm all for regulating hormone disrupters, pharmaceutical advertising and food dyes. Trump is destroying the government agencies and system (and legal basis) that would do these things. He's pushing us further away from meeting your movement's goals.

I see MAHA influencers posting about food dyes. I have yet to see a single MAHA influencer video about PFAs. Oh, the irony.

So are you only in favor of regulating food dyes if we also regulate PFAs?

[Anonymous]

If MAHA actually cared about health, they wouldn’t be cutting funding for HHS and basically crippling scientific research in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the OP starting this thread. I’m interested and intrigued by how “wellness” has joined seemingly disparate groups together.

I’d love to learn more about this.

I do think it's odd.
I think it started when the MAGA folk became anti-vax because of COVID. In the olden days, the only anti-vax people were earth-groovy vegans who grew their own food and sent their kids to Montessori schools. For some weird reason having to do with COVID and "get the gubmint outta my life," the anti-vax idea caught on with the MAGA folk, and now they've shifted over (along with RFKJr.) to getting dyes out of foods, eating healthy and sticking it to Big Pharma (also previously a very lefty stance).

That's my theory. In the past, pre-COVID, there was no connection to healthy living, anti-vax and the right wing. And yes, it's completely nonsensical because they also support getting the gubmint out of regulating water and air pollution, which of course infests our food, air and water with all sort of highly toxic chemicals.

But hypocrisy and the right-wing are best friends.

[Anonymous]

The current regulatory establishment, staffed mostly by Democrats, deliberately did nothing about PFAs for decades, in spite of the dangers being perfectly clear. MAHA probably won’t do anything about PFAs either, but it was already proven that the establishment regulators definitely weren’t going to do anything.

[Anonymous]

The other thing that happened in Trump’s first term was that he made anti-establishment noises with all the drain the swamp talk. So Dems who opposed him started defending the establishment, which the establishment media encouraged. Dems started “identifying” with government bureaucrats, intelligence agencies, and pharmaceutical companies more than they had previously. This accelerated during Covid as Dems got excited about the pandemic hurting Trump and saw an opportunity to signal their support of establishment “experts.” Progressive Marin County California in 2019 had among the LOWEST rates of childhood vaccinations because of the rich liberal granola moms. But in 2021 they had the HIGHEST rates of Covid vaccine uptake, because it was a political stand.

[Anonymous]

In conclusion, the parties kinda switched. It’s not just that the right got more into health freedom, it’s that the left got more into obeying “the man.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They tend to be undereducated and struggling to grasp scientific concepts. They don’t like to feel stupid so they cling to conspiracy theories.

MAHA backs the food additive regulations in Europe and California. Are Europeans and the California government stupid and under educated?

I'd gently suggest that there actually are areas where the left and MAGA could have common ground, and this could be one of them. Science *does* suggest these chemicals are harmful to health.

Democrats suffer cognitive dissonance on this one. They want to be more like Europe, but they also want to support our “experts,” who unfortunately approved a lot of toxic garbage that Europeans don’t tolerate.