Back in mid-October, I had a good phone call with a food activist who is leading a national boycott to try to pressure Kellogg’s to remove artificial food dyes and chemical preservatives from its children’s cereal.

The company previously said it planned to do so by 2018 but never followed through, even though the version of Froot Loops it sells in Canada uses natural food coloring made from fruits and vegetables. The U.S. version also contains butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), which is a lab-made chemical, as a preservative. The Canadian version does not.

Artificial food dyes do not improve the flavor; they simply make the food more colorful and therefore more appealing to young eyes. They are also cheaper to produce because they are made from petroleum and coal tar rather than natural ingredients.

The FDA is currently investigating possible harm associated with artificial food dye, which brings up a logical question – if the FDA is concerned about possible health issues, and we don’t know for sure that they are safe, why are companies putting it in our food? Cause it’s pretty and it makes kids want it and bug their parents for it.

The artificial food dye issue is a small subset of much larger problem, which is that ultra-processed foods are making us unhealthy.

The rise of ultra-processed food goes back to the food insecurity of the 1970s due to inflation. That’s when farming supports really took off under President Carter. The promise was that we would never have food affordability issues again. And so to manage the huge influx of agricultural production, companies started running it through a processing system that would double, triple, quadruple the shelf life of food.

When the food lasts longer, you can also have economies of scale by manufacturing products in one place and then putting it on trucks to crisscross the country, and it will have consistent quality for months.

But there’s a saying: the longer the shelf-life, the shorter your life. And when you lump in chronic health costs, cheap, mass-produced junk food is actually a lot more expensive. Look around at what has happened to our population compared to the 70s and there’s one inescapable conclusion: our food supply is making us all sick. It needs an overhaul.

Improving the health of our population is one of the major issues I plan on working on next term. Specifically, I intend to introduce legislation to get artificial food dyes out of our food as one step forward.

On a personal note, thank you to everyone who voted to send me back to Lansing next term as your state representative, despite the tsunami of negative advertising. I consider it a privilege and great honor to represent our community.

An analysis by one publication found that my race was the most lopsided in the state in terms of dollars spent per vote earned. My opponent’s side spent 33 times more than I did: $83.90 per vote compared to just $2.49. That’s one heck of a ratio. So I appreciate the confidence you showed in me.

As your voice in Lansing, it is my job to represent everyone, whether you voted for me or not. If you have ideas, reach out to my office by calling 517-373-1792 or send an email to marktisdel@house.mi.gov

State Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills represents Michigan House District 55, which includes the cities of Rochester and Rochester Hills, and part of Oakland Township.