An interesting and revealing exchange with Vani Hari, the self-proclaimed Food Babe, began with an open letter published last week to the high priestess of chemo and GMO phobia by a group of students posting on the website Science Meets Food:
Greetings Ms. Hari,
We would like to point out some examples of how your approach is not practical for achieving the goal of feeding a projected world population of 9.6 billion by the year 2050:
You preach organic and “non-GMO” eating as the only option for healthy living. There has been no substantial evidence proving organic products provide greater health outcomes than their conventional counterparts, and no credible study has shown that GMO crops, proven to be substantially equivalent to native crops, are deleterious to one’s health. Buying these usually higher-priced food items may be a possibility for you and others, but the majority of consumers do not have the means to purchase these products. These consumers need to know that organic/non-GMO food is not a necessary component of healthy eating, as scientific consensus has gathered thus far. An example of a more realistic, and impactful, message to spread is the importance of eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
The battles you have picked thus far do not even begin to tackle the REAL issues challenging the future of food. You don’t need to change your opinions, but you could make more progress in your efforts by understanding and working with, not against, the scientific community and food industry.
Read full, original blog: An open letter to the Food Babe
Also see this Twitter post from someone who claims to be a former employee of Vani Hari, saying she is an admitted liar who twists the science for greed:
The”Nicky Castillo” Tweet prompted a slew of attacks on Vani Hari, then was followed up a few hours later but what appeared to be a clarification, which really amounted to a retraction. “Nicky Castillo” said the original post was meant to be satire:
What appears to be the Food Babe herself…or someone using her name…then went on to the GLP site, accusing the site of defaming her and demanding a retraction, prompting this exchange: 
The GLP has yet to hear directly from Vani Hari, so the post remains up for now. Rather than cordially trying to resolve this through emails, Hari, or someone posing as her, then retaliated in the Food Babe’s famous velvet gloves fashion, going for the jugular–but also demanding that we do an interview. So we talked up what appeared to be her offer: 
As of yet, no response from the Food Babe as to whether she would engage rationally on the subjects she professes to know so much about. The GLP has asked her an interview and written it will allow her to post her story/views on the GLP website, without edit.
Still waiting…..
Jon Entine, executive director of the Genetic Literacy Project, is a Senior Fellow at the World Food Center Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy, University of California-Davis. Follow @JonEntine on Twitter
This is defamatory. The staffer expose is fake and admitted in the comments of the open letter. Please remove it immediately.
Not sure if this is Vani Hari or not. If your claim is that this posted email is fraudulent, please immediately send a letter with your letterhead, signed to [email protected] with all substantiation of your claim. If your comment above is supported by independent evidence, we will immediately remove it and issue a clarification on our site. We are committed to accuracy and respect any concerns when someone claims to be defamed. Thank you. Looking forward to rapid response from you.
Yes – there’s independent evidence here: See comments in this post “Nicky Castillo” was making it up and admits : http://sciencemeetsfood.org/open-letter-to-food-babe/ NICKY CASTILLO
See comment below:
January 24, 2015 at 20:54
Alright. I didn’t expect what I had intended to be a satirical comment to get so many responses as the goal was to elicit a response from Food Babe, not others. Of course, I am not using my real name so how could I have been contacted by attorneys so quickly? I thought that comment would make it clear that I was writing in jest and would not be taken seriously. In any case, I never worked for Food Babe. Again, I just wanted to push her to engage. I’m glad so many people are interested in dialog with Food Babe such that she can embrace science. My actions indicate just how frustrated I am as well about this topic. My apologies for misleading anyone.
So, as I requested directly to you- STOP CLAIMING I’M PAID OFF BY MONSANTO. You have all the damn time in the world to respond to this but not to recant the statement that any scientist who disagrees with you is paid off by Monsanto?
Publicly recant that I’m hiding a source of income from Monsanto or you’ll be hearing from my lawyers.
Welcome to our world. One can ‘walk on water’ and do the best science in the world, but if you make a living at it, you’re not to be trusted.
who the hell are you Yvette Guinevere d’Entremont?
Like it or not (and if you are foolish enough to believe Vani Hari you probably won’t like it!) but Yvette really is a brilliant individual with degrees in science. I’ve read her material and verified the accuracy and authenticity of that material! The time has come for the phonies out there to render their apologies to Yvette.
And for the record, there is not one peer-reviewed study to show that GMO’s are harmful to humans. NONE!
You seem to stupid and haven’t enough science standing to be paid by Monsanto, but still Monsanto also has PHD(not a real doctor)Joe Blow Schwarcz from Mc Gill on its payroll and he is even less educated with a miserable minor in chemistry and also he has zero peer reviewed scientific publications, you should meet, he also adores Aspartame and you 2 guys could drink a few Diet Cokes on your next YT video toghether…almost like the 2 science clowns Yvette and Joseph in all their glorious stupidity toghether…hahaahlol
Wow. So many lies.
“paid by Monsanto”
Please offer proof that Joe Schwarcz is paid by Monsanto. You and the Food Babe Army keep making this claim. Why has nobody ever offered proof? Because you’re lying.
“minor in chemistry”
Lie. Schwarcz received a PhD from McGill university in 1973, working with Arthur Saul Perlin. That’s not a “minor” in Chemistry, that a research-based post-graduate degree at on the top 50 research universities in the world.
“zero peer reviewed scientific publications”
Lie. Schwarcz, JA; Perlin, AS. “Orientational Dependance Of Vicinal And Geminal C-13-H-1 Coupling”, Can. J. Chem. 1972, 22, 3667. As of June 2015, that paper has been cited 196 times.
Dr Joe Schwarcz (Canada’s
Mr Science ?) is a consultant for the Biotech industry (including Monsanto)
who, as described in his bio, “interprets science” for the public. This clown
is a Monsanto defender and an Aspartame apologist among other big Corporate entities
for which this idiot defends. I can’t believe you would post this guy as
defense of Scientism.
Google Dr Joe Schwarcz and Monsanto. Google Dr Joe Schwarcz making fun of
Monsanto vs Schmeiser where he condemns the Canadian Canola Farmer who lost to
Monsanto.
….promoting vaccines isn’t any science work and Joe Schwarcz is only known in North America where this kind of Monsanto/Johnson& Johnson sponsored science crap is acceptable. Comparing Joe Schwarcz to a real Doctor in Chemistry such a Professor Hoffman(Hoffman-LaTRoche) is fraudulent and without any academic ethics, let Joe Schwarcz demonting Professor Seralinis research about GMO’s which in meantime have proven GMO’s being harmful for humans and animals.
Two years ago I asked you to provide the evidence of harm – in the interim you have continued to make the claims. Found the evidence yet?
Yvette d’Entrecôte, You are plain much too stupid( trop conne) to get paid by Monsanto, you are a simple laborist who has abolutely zero peer reviewed science work ever done, gobbling down Diet Coke on Youtube makes you not a scientist but an retard, why not adding some Round-Up to it ?.. some other science wanna be=retard claiming to be a scientst offered to drink Round-Up and later decelined, just keep on drinking Aspartame laced drinks and telling the public its harmless, with shit like this, Yvette d’Entrecôte you and science quack Joe Schwarcz simply show their stupidty and that they are getting paid to perform ..nobody beliefs this shit anymore…
Vani, how do we know that Nicky wasn’t coerced into issuing this statement? Anyhow, I hope you sent the material Jon requested. In the meantime, many of us are happy to speak with you; a civil dialogue in a setting of your choosing. You have your choice of many writers more than happy to interview/have a discussion with you.
#whereisvani
Cricket…cricket…
Civil dialogue, but let’s accuse someone of coercive tactics first :)
Food Babe, you once accused me – and thousands of others – of being paid 60 cents per post to argue with your fan club on Starbucks’ Facebook page. I have a hard copy of this that has been stored in accordance with current evidence standards, so it’s too late to delete it now. Admit that you were wrong, please, and do it publicly so that all of your followers can see it. This is only fair, considering what you’re arguing about here.
I see you have as many issues with following instructions as you do with research, facts, etc. At least you’re consistent in your terribleness.
Your world is crumbling.
Her world isn’t crumbling.. if it crumbles she just uses her pawn’s monthly food guide dues to go on another vacation.
Seems unlikely that the real Vani Hari would forgo using a profile picture. Should we assume this is a Monsanto shill? Nah, that would be both libelous and ridiculous. I would be interested in a public retraction and apology over the Starbucks shill accusation.
Assuming you really are Vani “Food Boob” Hari, you just hate the fact that science trumps your chemophobic, orthorexic ideology. Authority opinions mean nothing.
Science is not democracy. You don’t have the right to believe false things. If it has no evidence or fails a well-designed test, it’s WRONG. Get over it. You’re not allowed to believe it anyway.
Unfortunately, you are allowed to believe anything you want. Actually, you have the right to believe anything you believe, because if you really believe, you don’t choose what you believe in. We believe in Science because it appears to be right. Not because we know it’s right. Science and scientific method is just more convincing than non-scientific belief systems.
Oh, and it is democratic in some way. Have you ever heard of Thomas Khun?
But here’s the TWIST.
I don’t think Food Babe believes in what she’s preaching and selling. If I’m right, what she does is plainly unethical. If I’m wrong , she unintentionally harms her ‘fan base’.
She is allowed to believe in whatever she believes. And she is also allowed to talk about it. She just shouldn’t preach it. Especially if she knows it’s not true. We can’t shut people’s mouths. But we can show them, how they are wrong. And we shouldn’t ever stop.
Well, Nicky, whether she’s real or not, was wrong about one thing. It got a response.
Hey Vani, about the definition of libel. You can’t keep claiming that we’re on the payroll of Monsanto. Recant it or you will be hearing from my lawyer.
Where’s my $0.60 per word?
Any nutrionist knows that our bodies don’t need refined sugar except you ignorant retard called Science Babe also Aspartame should have been banned decades ago so much about your pseudo science à la USA..drinking Diet Coke on YT “plus con on meurt”..pesticides make food..really so how did we survive witthout pesticides for the last 5’000 years producing organically as much as with GMO’s on the same accreage and why is the excessive use of pesticides a danger and probably will cause famine in our near future, Yvette d’Entrecôte as long as the killing of of 50% of all pollinators doesn’t seem to concern you and also you haven’t the slightest idea that glyphosates cause extreme soil sterility and soil density, science is much more then being a simple laborist in a lab at Amvac you are NO Professor Rudolf Hoffmann, further science is always taking the global picture in account and based on a German research by real scientists Round-Up has massively killed livestock and caused birth defects in humans and animals, thats why now 50’000 Doctors–and this real ones, want glyphosates to be banned.The Netherlands recently banned all glyphosates Danemark will follow and please don’t go to discussions with real scientists and stay with the Yes-Men and Monsanto puppets you find in USA which clearly are on Monsanto-Johnson&Johnson payroll and yes real scientists at Harvard and Vermont university just recently verified the UN and European studies that Organic gives more yield the GMO crap.
Yvette Guinevere
d’Entremont has no peer reviewed scientific publications. 2) Her master’s
thesis from Anglia Ruskin University was not deemed of sufficient quality for
publication. 3) Her claim that she was a college professor is laughable, she
was an assistant instructor (one level above a TA) at Emmanuel College in
Boston for less than 1 year. 4) She is currently being terminated from her
position at Amvac for her activities on Scibabe. A description from a senior
colleague on seeing Scibabe.com perhaps sums her up best “she’s a not a
scientist, she’s a professional button pressor for a scientific company. I could
have a talented undergraduate doing her job in less than 2 days”.
Sorry Jurg, but you are SO FAR off base that it’s laughable! Did it ever occur to you that she did not want to publish her thesis, for her own reasons? People do NOT get into either Anglia Ruskin University or Emmanuel College unless they are very bright. And one thing I can say about her is that she IS very bright, to the point where she has earned both my admiration and my respect.
…so Yvette d’Entrecôte works as a laugable little laboriste because she likes to work badly paid positions and simply loves doing repeat work day afer day (she lost her laboriste job and Monsanto keeps on paying her to slander Food Babe)..Yvette d’Entrecôte .she has white trash written all over her and is clearly no Professor Hoffmann mot even close in the chemistry field other wise she wouldn’t drink Diet Coke same as the PHD minor in chemistry Joe “Blow” Schwarcz with his Aspartame sorry Amino Acide hahahlol… so much about Jews being smart Joe Schwarcz has 200% Auschwitz KAPO mentality which means no fucking ethic to get paid by Monsanto and Johnson&Johnson misinforming the puiblic, no more academic ethics then this Blonde Bimbo Yvette …and really spare me how intelligent you have to be to get into any North-American university…lol..Switzerland has about 300 times more Nobel Prizes per capita then USA( in science and physics)..so how does Einstein’s university of Zurich sound like for starter…so how many Nobel Prize alumni does Anglia Ruskin university have???
OMG you “scientists” and science lovers sound so pathetic and “bully-esque”. I am neutral on this issue but just reading the article and commentary and have trouble not smiling when seeing knowledgeable people reduce themselves to school-yard tactics. I think if you wait a month and re-read your posts, you’ll be embarrassed for yourselves :)
“neutral” my fanny. Your comment is clearly not neutral. You are either dumb or dishonest. Choose one.
Concern troll is concerned.
So true, a bunch of school yard bullies Entine Kloor etc
I’ve re-read the posts. Funny thing is Vani is still lying, and unable to substantiate any claim. She also continues to defame any detractors who dare use science. She goes even further by using the ban hammer to keep her social media filled with only her most loyal cult members…..errr….fans. Anyone who uses pseudoscience to keep people ignorant of the truth solely for profit should be confronted.
As expected, gmailman is attacked in a very bully-esque fashion. Nice job proving his point, guys.
I really don’t get all the hate and attacks. People have choices. You can eat healthy or you can eat junk. It’s up to you. Keep on hatin’ folks. WOW
Sure, she has the right to lie to people to make money. If stupid people want to believe her bullshit, that’s between them and her. Even trying to bully corporations into making changes because of her “Food Babe Army” is well within her rights. But she doesn’t have the right to claim defamation when someone points out that she’s wrong about nearly 100% of the advice she dispenses. That’s not a right. She wants to make these claims, she doesn’t get to cry defamation when they’re challenged.
Snootch I have a personal question for you. What do you think you will die of? In your sleep, cardiac arrest? If you die of a food-related illness god forbid. Wouldn’t you have lived a better life knowing that you could have prevented that in hindsight? Knowledge is power. Let’s not die in/of ignorance. Life’s short, live it up baby! Cheers to the quality of life! GMOs I can live with a few. Smile there is a way to eat GMOs and still thrive!!!tell u all the secret later!
“Committed to accuracy and respect”?? Oh come on Jon. We all know your real MO. Vani stay far, far away from this group and Jon Entine!
…because facts don’t really matter……..
This is Jon Entine: http://www.propagandists.org/propagandists/jon-entine/
Why would people believe a guy that’s paid to spin science for corporate interests?
This is where Yvette d’Entremont used to work: http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/california-company-a-place-old-pesticides-go-to-find-new-sales-not-die/
Again, why would this person be a trustworthy voice in a debate about the safety of pesticides?
Yvette Guinevere
d’Entremont has no peer reviewed scientific publications. 2) Her master’s
thesis from Anglia Ruskin University was not deemed of sufficient quality for
publication. 3) Her claim that she was a college professor is laughable, she
was an assistant instructor (one level above a TA) at Emmanuel College in
Boston for less than 1 year. 4) She is currently being terminated from her
position at Amvac for her activities on Scibabe. A description from a senior
colleague on seeing Scibabe.com perhaps sums her up best “she’s a not a
scientist, she’s a professional button pressor for a scientific company. I could
have a talented undergraduate doing her job in less than 2 days”.
Jurg, here are three phrases you should learn, because you’re guilty of all three with this same cut-n-paste you’re vomiting all over this message board.
1) ad hominem attack
2) defamation
3) copyright infringement
Listen you should also add Freedom of Speech and Science Ethics also Scince Fraud to your list. Nobody beliefs Aspartame and Diet Coke gobbling wanna-be scientists anymore, Science Babe is a simple laborist doing same tasks over and over. Science Babe and Joe Schwarcz are impersonating real recogniized scientists. Basing research on findings by Monsanto and Johnson& Johnson isn’t recognized anymore and for any law suits. Gerichtstand Interlaken, Switzerland. Global wealth and innovation leader Switzerland doesn’t believe Monsanto research is science. Switzerland has most Nobel Prizes per capita also. Swiss invented LSD, DDT and most other chemicals including GMO.
Jurg,
Even if a trained monkey was capable of performing the tasks of Yvette’s job choices, she at least applies the Scientific Principal to her arguments, something that appears completely lacking in Vani’s posts… And you don’t need a degree in science to understand and apply that.
Second, I have yet to see Yvette in a point of self contradiction or direct personal profiteering, both of which Vani appears to commit heavily and regularly. Between attacking sugar and promoting her own products that contain it, and her “pick and choose” which class 2b carcinogens are bad vs good without explanation (i.e. those in HER products are OK vs others), Vani appears to dig herself in a hole. Can you say COFFEE(ok) vs Caramel Color(not ok)?
Science à la Monsanto or Johnson&Johnson isn’t science anymore that even a trained monkey knows, nobody gets fooled seeing Yvette drinking Diet Coke or Joe Schwarcz promonting Aspartame being safe. GMO products as well have been proven unsafe for human and animal consumption.
VANI HARI NEEDS TO GET HER ACT TOGETHER. I HAVE CHECKED WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU AND THE MEAT COMPANY SHE IS TELLING PEOPLE TO BUY FROM ARE CROOKS. THE NAME IS BUTCHERS BOX. I LIVE IN ARIZONA AND IT TOOK THE MEAT 4 DAYS TO GET HERE. BY THE TIME IT ARRIVED THE ICE WAS MELTED. THE MEAT PACKAGE THAT THE HAMBURGER WS IN WAS RIPPED. THE COMPLAINTS ARE MANY. THIS IS REALLY SAD. THEY DO NOT WANT TO TALK WITH YOU AFTER YOU HAVE HAD A PROBLEM THIS CAN ALL BE CHECKED OUT ON THE BBB.