Our pal the Food Babe seems to have a very thin skin. She responded on her website to the article about her in The New York Times in which I was quoted along with a number of her other critics. It is true that I said she gets on talk shows because she is pleasant to look at. Isn’t that a compliment? She says that is “sexist.” And this is from a woman who calls herself “The Food Babe.” Is she serious?
Yes I am on the editorial board of ACCN, the magazine of the Canadian Chemical Society and in fact write a regular column for the magazine. Vani thinks that the Society is some sort of industrial lobby. It is nothing of the sort. It is the academic voice of Canadian chemistry. Just another example of her being totally out of touch with how the scientific world functions. Her comment that I never met a chemical I didn’t like is so silly that it is unworthy of a rebuttal. I never called her “that stupid woman,” in public, but she has said many things that could invite such a comment. Here is a winner: “There is just no acceptable level of any chemical to ingest, ever.” As far as funding from the Council of Biotechnology Information goes, twelve years ago we did receive support for student interns, none of whose work had anything to do with biotechnology. Funny that a funding issue should be brought up by someone who profits greatly from items she pushes.
Yes, I did bring to students’ attention the fact that Vani blocks anyone from her Facebook page who asks about her credentials. They found this such an affront to science that they checked it out themselves and ended up being blocked. Isn’t it ridiculous that someone whose knowledge about chemistry goes no further than advising people that if they can’t pronounce it, they shouldn’t be eating it, ends up being interviewed by USA Today about the difference between sugar and high fructose corn syrup?
It is also true that I have questioned her mental abilities. How could I not when she wrote a piece about believing that the properties of water were affected by a label on the bottle that had either loving or hateful words written on it. Let me also mention that on numerous occasions I invited her to be a guest on my radio show to air her views and she refused. I stand by my opinion of her. She is a possibly well-meaning, scientifically illiterate publicity hound who bullies companies to conform to her mostly ignorant demands. As far as being addicted goes, the only thing I’m addicted to is proper evidence-based science. And the Food Babe most assuredly does not fall into that category.
Unfortunately I can’t put these comments on her Facebook page from where I have been banned. Neither can I put them on her website where comments have been closed. It seems the Babe can dish it out but can’t take it.
