I am a friend of Yvette d’Entremont, A.K.A. Science Babe, and I am proud of her. She’s done a great thing with her now viral exposé of “Food Babe” Vani Hari for Gawker, which is why I wanted to interview Yvette about it.
Some praised the piece; others defended Vani. And then there are those on the high horse, saying we should stop talking about this quack or that fraud, because by doing so you’re giving them oxygen, like if we just shut up about them they would magically go away.
There are those in health and fitness that think the only thing we should do is dole out good information, and ignore those giving terrible advice. Stop giving them exposure, they say. Ignore them, they say. No press is bad press, so stop giving them press.
They’re wrong, and Yvette’s article proves it.
Many people have written pieces exposing the bullshit spread by the Food Babe (including me), and it didn’t stop her from growing her fan base, expanding her influence, getting a major book deal, and spreading harmful information about chemicals, vaccines and GMOs.
Until now.
I would argue that Yvette (who admits that she had lots of help) did a better job at truly damaging the Food Babe’s position as “health expert” than anyone who has come before. Food Babe lost thousands of Facebook followers in the ensuing few days. People began to think more clearly about her and started to abandon the ship, because it’s taking on water. I expect the days of favorable press for the Food Babe are over.
Read full, original article: Why it’s important to take down charlatans
