The Highwire with Del Bigtree - MAHA RISING: BATTLE TO CANCEL KELLOGG’S HEATS UP

Episode Date: November 18, 2024

With the Make America Healthy Again movement on the rise, removing toxic chemicals in our food and water supply is now a mainstream talking point. Food Babe, Vani Hari, joins Del with an update on the public response to her petition and march to Kellogg’s Headquarters as well as her shocking interview with an heir to the Kellogg’s name. Hear what she believes is behind Kellogg’s refusal to take these harmful ingredients out of their products and her hopes for the future of our regulation agencies.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-highwire-with-del-bigtree--3620606/support.

Here in America, we are going through this amazing renaissance, a discussion about health, started with the Make America Healthy Again movement, which just broke loose right before the end of election season. And all of these new people are talking about all of these different things, whether it's your water, your air, but especially your food, toxic chemicals in our food supply. Why has our country allowed this when other countries are blocking it? At the center of this was an incredible march on Kellogg's by Bonnie Hari. And now she's got celebrities that are chiming in and saying, we want to be a part of this movement too. Take a look at this. Hey, Uncle Chucan, what does this button do?

I'm Ava Mendez and I'm boycotting Kellogg's until they treat Americans like they treat Europeans and Canadians and take out these toxic ingredients. growing concerns around what's in breakfast cereal. American food companies are selling the same exact products overseas without these chemicals, but choose to continue serving us the most toxic version here. I'm voting with my dollars and boycotting Kellogg's until they remove the garbage from our kids. I am boycotting Kellogg's until they take out some of these horrendously toxic ingredients. that we're feeding our kids.

No more dice! No more dice! I'm concerned about the health of Americans, and I want to encourage you to join me in holding corporations like Kellogg's accountable. Is there a reason why you're poisoning our cereal more than the cereal that you give to other nations? This will be the biggest petition ever collected, taking on the food industry.

Kellogg's, if you're listening, please. Let us in. Kellogg's. I'm boycotting you. The ingredients in Kellogg's are linked to cancer. Do not buy Kellogg's and support this corruption. Kellogg's, would you please take the poisons out of your food and stop harming our children? Don't buy Kellogg's until Kellogg stops poisoning us with artificial crap.

This is the brightness of the Canadian version, and this is the brightness of artificial food dyes. Say yes to the this. the health of this nation and our kids and boycott Kellogg's. As they could be a nutrition, I'm urging you to stop buying Kellogg's, their ingredients are hurting our children's brain and their health. Stop buying Kellogg's until they improve their ingredients here in America. Nobody should buy Kellogg's until they fix it. Friends don't let friends eat Kellogg's.

Stop buying Kellogg's now. So Kellogg's is turning their back on America today. Is that what you're saying? They don't care about you or me or kids or our health. They care about their bank accounts. We need to demand better. We need to vote with our wallets. Now the move is bankrupt Kellogg's.

Bankrupt every single American food company who is complicit in the mass poisoning of our children. The executives are right there, they have a time. They told all the kids to get off their lawn so we will not allow their products in our homes. Our children deserve better. Boycott Kellogg's. Join me and others in boycotting Kellogg's until they agreed to remove toxic ingredients and dyes from our food sources.

We're starting a mandatory boycott from this blog. It is officially time to cancel Kellogg. We must boycott Kellogg's. Do not buy Kellogg's. It's time to vote with our dollars and cancel Kellogg's. Cancel Kellogg. Cancel Kellogg's. Cancel Kellogg's until it does the right thing.

Moms in particular are in charge of Kellogg's. We're not effing around anymore. Do not buy Kellogg's cereal. Stop buying Kellogg's. Don't buy their stuff. Don't buy any other stuff. I want Americans to be treated the same way as citizens in other countries by our own American companies.

My American brothers and sisters, Let's come together and boycott Kellogg's. This is just the beginning. Well, it's quite a movement. Boycotting Kellogg's, all of those superstars getting involved. And behind that, really, the energy, the driver is New York Times bestseller. Vonnie Hari, who joins me now. Vani, first of all, what an amazing force you are.

It's just, it's fantastic watching you out there driving this incredible movement. on such an important and obvious issue. So where are we at? How many signatures have you gotten so far on this petition? Are we hearing from Kellogg's? Well, you know, I went to Kellogg's third quarter earnings report. There wasn't one financial analyst brave enough to ask about the thousand people that were at Kellogg's headquarters in Battle Creek,

or the 451,000 signatures, signatures that we now have on our petition, or the six weeks in counting of complete silence on Kellogg's social media accounts, or the hundreds of mainstream media news articles about this boycott and cancel Kellogg's movement. It is absolutely pathetic that they think they can have an earnings call and not mention this movement. And it just goes to show you that they're really truly hiding from this. And it makes me think that there's something sinister going on. What is happening behind closed doors at Kellogg's? You know, who are the people in charge of PR? I mean, this is one of the biggest PR mistakes in all of the food industry that I have ever

seen and will go down in history and people will be writing stories and books about this. They already are, but it's really very disheartening. Then we have RFK right before the election saying as soon as he's put in power, the first thing he's going to do is ask these cereal companies to remove the dyes from their products because they don't use them in other countries. Americans deserve the same safer products that they already are selling, these food companies are selling overseas. And then right after the election, the first interview he got on MSNBC was talking about fruit loops. Why do we have fruit loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients and you go to Canada and it's got two or three? And all we see from Kellogg's is silence. It's really amazing.

And how do you account for? Because you have been successful at this before. We've interviewed you earlier. You got Subway to change ingredients. You got Kraft to get rid of. You got craft to get or the dyes in their food, their macaroni cheese, things like that. Is this following, do you feel like did they make you wait this long? Is there a different pattern? Like, you know, is this different than what you're used to?

This is definitely different than what I'm used to. There is something going on behind the scenes. Here are some thoughts that I have, some hypotheses that I have. First, this is a petroleum coal tar type ingredient that comes from the petroleum coal tar industry. Is there someone in the petroleum coal tar industry preventing this work from being done?

Then I think about the companies, the pharmaceutical companies that are making ADHD medication in Ridland that are directly related to the fact that we have an enormous amount of artificial dyes in our diet now than when they were approved for use. And so they, you know, the warning label, the cigarette type warning label that exists in Europe,

is it says may cause adverse effects on activity and attention in children. And when food manufacturers realize they were going to have to put the cigarette type warning label on their product, they voluntarily remove these dyes. And so they're liable. They know they're causing this harm. And so what's happening in play here? Are there pharmaceutical industry players having some of the strengths? I'm not sure.

All I know is two of the biggest investors in Kellogg's are Vanguard and Blankard. Black Rock, and they are at the table of making some of these decisions. And I want to know what's going on behind the scenes. What I'm hearing right now is that some of these companies are so archaic in the way that they produce their products. It's like the Titanic, and they see an iceberg coming with all of us activists, RFK, the new found government, the election happening, and this entire Make America Healthy Again movement.

And they can't stop the Titanic. because the way that they're run. And so what has to happen, what analysts are telling me right now, which is really quite scary for the Kellogg's investor. And if they're listening, they need to listen to this, that they may have to take the company private for a few years, get it all cleaned up to make it profitable again and to make it viable for the next 100 years,

because this movement is coming for them. And they can't stop it. And now we have leadership at the highest levels, demanding these changes. And it's absolutely incredible. And I'm so excited to be part of this movement with you Dell and so many others as all those voices that you just showed.

It is such an exciting time. It is very exciting. And I wonder the same thing. It's a bit like when you watch the housing collapse and you see all these people that knew it was gonna happen, but are just sucking all the money out of it they can until the very end. I'd be curious to see what's happening

to stock options, the company from employees from inside. I'll bet you you're going to see a lot of people like selling off. They know it's, you know, the writing's on the wall, but they're just going to ride this, get everything they can out of it and then say, well, it wasn't my issue, you know, and watch the company come crashing down. You had a really amazing interview. When you think about Kellogg's, at the heart of it is a family. There's actually a Kellogg's family, and you got an incredible interview with a member of the Kellogg's family talking about what they think. is happening with their family name and this product.

Let's take a look at this very quickly. My great-great-great-grandfather was William Keith Kellogg. His son, John Leonard Kellogg, was my great-great-grandfather. His son, William Keith Kellogg, second of his name, was my great-grandfather. He had a son named William Keith Kellogg III. My father is his oldest son. I am his only daughter. How do you feel your great-great-great-grandfather

would feel about this right now considering Fruit Loops was invented after he died. I don't think he would have supported this. I think it's very unfortunate that Kellogg is promoting this, but I mean this is just the way our society is these days. Kellogg's was like basically a food for working class people they could just put milk in this bowl of food. His intention was to help people and now people are getting really, really, really sick and it's really, really sad what our world has become. I'm personally very hurt by this. My whole family is I contacted my third cousins out in Washington and they are just as

heartbroken as I am. I'm fighting so hard to get this message out and I'm making it a PR nightmare for Kellogg's. But this is your family, you know, this is your blood, right? How do you feel about activists like me? doing this. Thank you. You're doing my family a great service. Every time a child eat something and gets sick, I feel I feel terrible about it and that is one of the reasons I'm speaking out today is if I'm in a place of power it is my duty to speak out and just do the right thing and maybe my reputation will be soiled after this but I don't

hear. I would hope that Kellogg would live my family's legacy and just do the right thing. Obviously, Kellogg's cornflakes or cereal in general is not ideal. But sometimes, I'm not here to judge, but sometimes it's just convenient for people. And I think they should apologize for making a false vow. And I think they should correct their wrong. I think of a single Kellogg that supports this. You can't think of a single Kellogg that supports this. Absolutely not.

Money is not everything in life. But when you're sick in bed and your children are sick in bed for their whole life because they have health problems, those money really doesn't matter anymore. I would also recommend that people boycott other companies that are producing these toxic food dyes. Absolutely boycott Kellogg. It's the final message.

I'm Victoria Kellogg and I approve this message. I mean, really amazing, powerful. I mean, it's great to hear, by the way, that someone in the family actually cares. And she says in that interview, I don't know anyone in our family that agrees with this approach towards poisoning children in America. It's not what the family stood for. It's not what their products started with. It was a wholesome concept of feeding people. But how did you get that interview?

I mean, how are you getting these people to speak out the way that you are? Well, she had reached out to me through the website and I'm getting a lot of different whistleblowers coming out. And if you guys are in Kellogg's right now or if you know some information and you're watching this, I encourage you to come to me with this information. I can keep your information private or we can do a live interview like with the great, great granddaughter of WK. Kellogg's who brought corn flates to the masses. What she did was courage over corruption. It was absolutely beautiful. And I am honestly so moved by her ability to put American children first above her finances.

It's absolutely incredible. It really is amazing, Bonnie. So what are the next steps here? Can we still sign the petition? Is there still power in getting more names, people to sign up? And I just think this is such a great tool, by the way. It's my favorite mission right now, is this Kellogg's pressure? Because it's so perfectly, you know, illustrates the issue that we have in this country,

the issue we have with our regulatory agencies, that it's allowing us to be poisoned more than other nations. It makes no sense. What happened to American exceptionalism? What happened to leading being the light of quality and liberty and freedom? But right now, what can the people watching here do to help you? Obviously, we're boycotting the product, but what's the next step? Can we still sign the petition? You can definitely come on over to foodbabe.com and sign the petition.

Tell your friends and family about this. You know, this is not just about Calogs, as you just illustrated. It's about the overall corruption and problems within the food industry. And we need to tell people the truth that American food companies are making the exact same products for other countries with better ingredients. We should demand the same safer ingredients here, and we have a right to that. Absolutely. Was it hard getting celebrities to speak out? They tend to be really nervous about things like this, because obviously, I mean, if you watch television, Kellogg's is a huge advertiser for the very show. So they're getting paychecks, if you will,

from Kellogg's. Did you, are, let me ask you this. Are there actors that are talking to you and you as saying, I can't go public, but how can I help? Yes, I have both sides of the spectrum. Some people had to wait until after the election. You know what I mean? Right. Different, you know, people's willingness and their comfort level to come to come to the stage at this level. I mean, I want to commend Eva Mendez because she was one of the first ones that really stuck her neck on the line.

And she's like, this issue I've cared about for so long, Bonnie. I really want to help you. And she didn't care about the election. She didn't care about anything. She wanted to really put it on her page. with our 8 million followers on Instagram. And she's been just an enormous leader in this on the celebrity front because people see her

and her stature, you know, married to the top actor of the world, Ryan Gosling. And she's like, if Ryan had an Instagram account, I would post it on his too, you know? And he's not even on social media. So, you know, for her to be a leader and come out and do that, that allowed other celebrities to do it. And so I ask if you're a celebrity out there watching this

or listening to this, come out, support her campaigns, send me a video. Tell me your boycotting and canceling Kellogg. Send it out to your lists and all of your followers out there because I'm telling you this is how we get the job done. We vote with our dollars and we can get the job done. Well, you're doing such an amazing job, Bonnie. You know, as you move forward, do you have plans next steps? You're going to add pressure in other ways? And, you know, what happens now that maybe you have a more receptive government looking at these issues. You know, are people talking about that? Yeah, absolutely. So some of the things that are happening behind the scenes, I've got different consultants from the food industry that are

coming to me and saying, hey, Bonnie, let's come up with the solution now. You identify the problem. You're attacking them from the outside. Let's go back inside and see how we can move this ship in the right direction. They really think that in order to get this done, we're going to need all of the big players at the table, the PepsiCo's, the Cocoa's, the Cocoa. co-colas, the General Mills, the Kraft Hines, all of them at the table saying, yes, we agree to this so that they take the two to three percent hit on their bottom line to get this done. You know, what I love about what you're doing is we can't just count on government, right? Like one person can't fix all these issues.

And, you know, one of my concerns is we've worked so hard. You could really let down your guard right now and think, well, you know, look, RFK Jr.'s got this, but it really, nothing moves if the court of public opinion isn't supportive. it. So it's really time that we continue the pitchforks and the, you know, the flaming torches outside of the Kellogg's, of the mainstream media. I mean, speaking of mainstream media, are they covering this with you? Are you getting interviews on CNN and Fox and CBS on this issue? Well, CNN and NBC have been silent on it. Everywhere else is a shocker. They are really silent on it. You know, I've had amazing interviews lately with some of the biggest

newspapers in the world. Now it's going worldwide. I've got the largest paper in Germany writing about it, the largest paper in Italy writing about it. So we're going worldwide with this campaign. And this is hurting Kellogg's reputation in a way that I believe is going to be irreparable. And so really, if you guys are listening to this, you really got to come out with an announcement and a change. And the worst part about this, Dell, is I've got state AGs reaching out to me talking about suing these big food companies. Good. And it is going to be a situation like we saw with big tobacco.

I really truly believe that. And I think that's going to be one of the fastest ways to get them to move as well as a collective unit. Well, any way that I can can get involved and help with that. You know, that's our wheelhouse. We love the legal side of this. It is, it's just another massive pressure point. I'm glad to hear AGs. They should be getting in.

there in protecting their constituents in their different states. Bonnie, you're a force to be reckoned with. You represent the best of us and what it means when you just put one foot forward and continue to just do what you're guided to do. You're a hero, and I really, I want to let you just get right back out to what you're doing. Thank you for taking the time. So once again, what social media, what are the platforms we can follow you and just continue to support you in the work that you're doing?

Well, come on over to foodbabe.com, get on my email list, sign the petition, and then follow on social media. I'm on X, I'm on Instagram, on Facebook, on TikTok, all of them, and share these videos and other things that we have coming out that kind of show the support around this movement and the education piece that we're laying out for letting people know what the dangers are of a lot of these chemicals that food companies are using

here in the United States and not in other countries. All right, excellent. We'll do. You heard it from the mouth of the warrior. All right, take care, Vani. I'll talk to you soon, and I'll see you out there. I'm sure very soon. soon. Yes. Thank you, Del.