The DDT and Red Dye Scare
The National Audubon Society’s website does not have any definitive data proving that red dye in hummingbird nectar is, has been or would be harmful to hummingbirds. They just post the rumors as if they’re experts on the subject. I’ll explain in a moment.
Purists believe that exposing hummingbirds to anything but natural nectar could be harmful to the birds, but as you read their blogs you’ll find that most feed their birds sugar water which really is NOT their natural nectar either, so even purists break their own rules.
HISTORY:
The red dye controversy started back around the time of the DDT ban in the 1972.
ABOUT DDT
DDT was a very effective pesticide but the postulation that it went up the food chain from insects to rodents to birds of prey, went from postulation, to law from fear and without real empirical scientific data.
In the early 70’s many bird of prey species populations were rapidly declining. It was determined that their egg shells were too thin to allow the the weight of the parents during incubation. The eggs would break under the weight of the parents and no chicks were raised that year. This thin egg shell epidemic was studied and a direct scientific correlation between weak egg shells and secondary DDT consumption was supposed and postulated BUT no scientific proof of a correlation was ever found or presented.
A theory was just officially published as a scientific paper, without scientific proof or evidence and DDT was banned in 1972.
Coincidentally within a few years of the ban, birds of prey populations had recovered back to normal.
INTERESTING NOTE:
A few years after the DDT ban, some serious studies and scientific proof indicated that factors other than DDT use were more likely responsible for most of the raptor egg shell thinning and population decline.
However the rumor, innuendo and damage in peoples minds about DDT was already prevalent and to this day many people have never been informed of, or studied the history and empirical scientific data and therefore still believe that DDT was the sole and only cause.
So now you know the rest of this story about DDT.
Now lets talk about the
Red Dye Scares and Rumors,
Where they most likely came from
and how they hang on…
Okay, soon after the scare of thin raptor eggs shells, the rumor mills started up and began to overlay the same DDT rumors and scares onto thousands of species of animals, fish, birds and even insects to which DDT was made to kill!
The FDA started the ball rolling with a false report of some dangers of Red Dyes used in food coloring. More of that below.
With the Red Dye warnings by the FDA, many of these “half remembered” stories of DDT doom for the raptors began to prevail in animal lover articles and thinking, and coincidentally, the scare of RED DYE for hummingbirds starts.
Red Dye was first a scare for humans, then fish, then animals and then hey, if it is bad for humans, it must be definitely bad for hummingbirds.
At first the scare of red dye was because it too could, or may, or might cause hummingbird egg shells to be thin…
but SCIENTIFICALLY this is NOT the case… just a rumor.
The rumors and scares have moved from egg shells in hummingbirds to thin beaks or blind chicks, rye necks and crippled legs, feet and wings.
But NONE of these have been scientifically proven, let alone scientifically documented.
All Just Rumors.
THE RED DYE SCARES
These rumors and wives tails could also have started with and propagated from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ban on Red Dye FD&C #2 in 1976. The colorant was removed from the FDA approved list in 1976 from a lone study that showed cancer in female rats. The study was never duplicated or even questioned. It was just acted upon by the FDA.
While the U.S. FDA does not approve Red FD&C#2, it is widely used outside of the U.S. including Canada before and since 1976 and no conclusive negative scientific data has come forth from the rest of the world in that time.
Again in 1990 the FDA banned Red Dye FD&C#3 BUT this ban was only for some specific uses which are totally unscientific and very illogical and strange… for example
Red #3 can be used in any amount in consumable food and drug products consumed by humans and animals, (i.e., it can be used as much as desired, with no restrictions INSIDE the body), but it can not be used in anything applied to the outside of the body!
WHAT! The FDA says you can eat as much Red FD&C#3 as you want but can’t put any on your skin, nails or hair.
Yes, strange as it may seem, some extremely obscure research data was published without credentials in the early 1990’s in which the so called “scientists” stated that male rats developed thyroid tumors caused by exposure to Red FD&C#3. Female rats were not mentioned, just male rats.
I’m just guessing here but since the FDA’s scientific data states that you can consume as much red FD&C#3 as you want and it is considered safe, the male rats must have been very RED as they would have had to be dangling in red FD&C#3 many times a day to have it effect their thyroids from exterior use!! OR, it really wasn’t the cause… use your own logic and wisdom here.
Clearer thinking postulates that the ban was done by a more political regulating body than scientific as the writers of the paper were not named, nor was the study identified or replicated.
Never the less, only 2 RED DYES out of 23 Red Dyes in total, were banned or partially banned.
As of this writing, without any other scientific justification they are still banned for the same illogical, non-scientific reasons.
The FDA takes the gestapo stance that they are in charge and can not be questioned.
The RED DYE scare of the 1976’s through the 1990’s has caused many non-scientific opinions to postulate that red dye is bad and causes problems… but to this day NO credible, duplicatable scientific data has EVER been published to substantiate any of these claims while other scientific data and usage history refute the FDA’s claims of harm or potential harm.
Another LOGICAL Question
Why Just 2 RED Dyes?
WHAT ABOUT ALL DYES?
An interesting scientific note here and something just to prick your brain and thinking , and something additional to show you the falseness and fervor of the Red Dye fears and rumors.
ALL dye colors come from different chemicals and formulas.
FOR EXAMPLE
Red Dye FD&C#2 is made from AMARANTH and is only banned in the U.S. in consumable products. If you’ve been to Canada and Europe you probably consumed Red FD&C#2 as it is perfectly legal there.
Red Dye FD&C#3 is an organoiodine compound, specifically a derivative of fluorone. It is totally different from FD&C#2 as it has no, none, zero Amaranth.
Red Dye FD&C#40 is different from Red FD&C#2 and Red FD&C#3 and is made from the formulation of disodium 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-2-naphthalenesulfonate. This has become the most commonly and widely used RED colorant in the U.S. even though it is made with many more chemicals. It is most likely the most popular since the DYE controversies seemed to stop with FD&C#3.
So this little example shows you that every dye color is a different chemical or chemical composition.
Red #3 is not a darker or lighter version of red #2, it is totally different from all other colors as are all of the dye colors are as different chemically from each other as they are in their hue color differences.
The chemicals just give our eyes the perception of a particular color.
So WHY were Red #2 and Red #3 lumped into the same bans?
MORE TO PONDER
Another question to ponder is this.
If RED dye is bad, what about YELLOW & BLUE & ORANGE & WHITE & BLACK & BROWN & GREEN, and for that matter, all of the other secondary color dyes?
ANSWER
NOTHING… Nope, Nada. No bans or data, and for that matter no rumors and innuendo about any other color other than RED.
Some say; if red is bad other colors are bad, but I believe I’ve shown you that there is no proof that red is bad.
The humor in all of this is that the rumors and innuendo don’t even know WHICH of the 23 red dyes is, or might be the culprit!
As I taught you above, all of the man made dye colorants are made from different chemicals and chemical compositions.
For a RED example, there are 19 different red dyes with red in their name and when you add in the violets that come from red, there are 23 in total. So what makes any or all of the reds worse than the blues, yellows, greens, oranges, white, browns and blacks?
NOTHING.
If the other colors have shown no problems and have caused no problems, and there is no documentation to the contrary, red is truly and most probably chemically safe too. It is just that someone first focused on the ban reds in the 70’s through 90’s and uneducated consumers have kept the rumors going and transmuted the ban to something bad for hummingbirds.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please do not construe my writings to summarize that I advocate the use of colorants. On the contrary. You should be your own judge. Study, get wisdom and knowledge and then decide if colorants are okay for you and yours.
Holistic doctors believe that the chemicals used to make the colorants can possibly cause abnormalities in living organisms, including humans. Many holistic doctors and chiropractors advise their patients to avoid colorants and here’s a funny one, they believe that the chemicals used to make Red #3 and Red #40 can cause bone and joint issues. Its still supposition as there’s still no conclusive scientific evidence either way so make your own educated choices.
SUMMARY
Don’t get me wrong, anytime we feed natures creatures we must be stewards of care and oversight of what we feed them and we at Cougar Ridge Ranch prefer not to add red dye (or any other dyes) to their nectar (with the exception of the cinnamon candies that have red dye in them).
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