Dear Next President,

I believe that yellow #5 and #6 food dyes are a hazard to the health of this county’s citizens. It affects children, seniors, and everyone in between. I am a sophmore in high school, and I feel strongly about the issue of what we are eating, how it is made, and what goes into it.

First of all, the US is only buying these dyes because they're cheap, since the rest of the world has already banned it. So since it's so cheap and available we use it in everything. Including, but not limited to, bread, IV fluids, pickles, cereal, pasta, pancake batter, candy, gatorade, yogurt, butter, chips, and cheese, etc. Since it is in many products me and my family have been personally affected by the producing and selling of foods and products with these dyes in them. My brother and father get severe migraines from eating anything with these dyes. Most times they are hospitalized for at least a night, and need different IV fluid, since the regular fluid has yellow dyes in it. My younger brother gets hyperactive if he eats anything that contains the dyes. Also, whenever I eat it I get hyperactive and throw up, not as serious of side effects as some but I should be able to eat my food without getting sick. I know this is caused by yellow dyes because of countless doctor appointments. No one should be getting sick without knowing the reasons why. Therefore, it should be labeled on every produce item it is found in. Many people, like my family, are highly allergic to them. And their lives are affected negatively by this.

Europe has not allowed products to be made or sold that contain the dye, and their economy and overall health is thriving. They banned the dyes once there was research linking it to bad health effects. Since then many companies have changed their ingredients to accommodate this, but only in Europe. For example, Kraft Mac and Cheese uses dye in the United States but if you buy some in the United Kingdom there will be natural substitutes for the dyes. Another example is M&M’s, they are no dyes used in their European branch yet they continue to use these dangerous chemicals in the U.S candy. I know about this thanks to my doctors and parents. The reason they still use them in the U.S is because they are cheap and there’s a lot of it. Therefore we know that they have the capability to get rid of these, they just don't because using the cheap artificial dyes is more beneficial for the health of their company than the health of this country's citizens.

So to ensure the wellbeing of your people you should ban yellow #5 and #6 food dye in America. Since this product is highly used today you should make a ten year plan to slowly get rid of it in our products. Thank you for listening to my thoughts on this issue and congratulations on your big win.

Sincerely,

Grace H.