West Virginia Passes Bill Banning Artificial Dyes

By
Rachel Stevenson
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Finally, someone is stepping up and doing what the FDA should have done years ago—getting toxic, artificial food dyes out of our food. West Virginia is leading the charge, becoming the first state in the nation to ban a laundry list of synthetic dyes that have been linked to everything from hyperactivity in children to long-term health risks. And of course, the food industry is clutching its pearls, warning of “increased costs” and “limited choices.” But let’s be real—if Aldi can sell food without these dyes, so can everyone else.

For years, conservatives have called out the federal government for failing to hold corporations accountable while shoving overregulated nonsense onto small businesses and taxpayers. Now, West Virginia Republicans are proving that you don’t have to wait for Washington bureaucrats to get their act together—you can take action at the state level and actually do something to protect public health.

Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman didn’t mince words when she called this “the most important bill” the legislature would ever vote on. And she’s right. West Virginia ranks among the worst in the nation for obesity and other health issues, and families in rural areas have limited grocery options. The least they deserve is food that isn’t pumped full of unnecessary chemicals just to make it look brighter on a store shelf.

Naturally, the opposition came from exactly where you’d expect—big food corporations that don’t want to change their formulas and politicians worried about “business regulations.” Sen. Eric Tarr, one of the two Republicans who voted against the bill, said there wasn’t enough evidence proving the dyes were unsafe and worried about hurting West Virginia’s “business environment.”

But let’s be honest—Europe has already banned many of these dyes, California is phasing them out of school food, and even the federal government has set a ban on Red No. 3 to take effect in 2027. The writing is on the wall, and companies will have to adjust eventually. West Virginia just decided to get ahead of the curve instead of waiting around for the FDA to wake up.

Meanwhile, the National Confectioners Association predictably swooped in to warn that banning food dyes would make food “significantly more expensive” and “less accessible” for West Virginians. Ah yes, because removing a few artificial chemicals from a recipe is somehow going to make a pack of M&Ms cost $10. This is the same tired excuse big corporations always trot out whenever they’re forced to do something even slightly inconvenient for the sake of public health. If they were really worried about affordability, they’d be looking at cutting unnecessary fillers and improving supply chains instead of defending toxic ingredients.

Sen. Jason Barrett put it best: the FDA hasn’t reevaluated these chemicals in decades. The federal government has failed to act, and it’s been up to states to take the lead. That’s why West Virginia, a deep red state, is doing what should have been done years ago—making sure its citizens, especially its children, aren’t being fed junk that other countries have long deemed unsafe. Eleven other states are already considering similar legislation, and you can bet that once people see West Virginia pull this off, more will follow.

For all the fearmongering about shelves being empty and businesses struggling, the reality is much simpler: companies will adapt, food will still be available, and families will be healthier. This isn’t radical. This is common sense. And finally, someone had the guts to stand up to big corporations and say enough is enough.

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