Everyone says follow the science, right? Now, I'm not all that sure that the average consumer consumes enough dye to actually impact their health, but will admit to being ignorant of how much of the stuff I ingest when processors of food seek to make their product more visually appealing.
I know that most of the vaccines these days have a petroleum base, most of the clothes I wear contain some level of petroleum distillate, and that I quite honestly wouldn't be able to make it through a single day without coming into contact with petroleum in one form or another, but I honestly can't say whether I'm consuming a few micrograms or a few milligrams daily because I just don't know how much coloring is needed per Maraschino Cherry or per gallon of artificially colored fruit juice.
The flip side is that a "natural" alternative might only be available from some rare plant that's on an environmental protection list somewhere and a synthetic is the only alternative available. I guess I'm OK with keeping it out of the food supply as long as we can still use it to make Blaze Orange vests to keep me safer when I'm out in the woods, add a splash of color to the outfit I wear out on the golf course, or give the paint job on a car that eye-catching Candy Apple Red . . .
