212 - What’s in Your Food, and Who’s Fighting to Change It

Welcome to the Just Ingredients podcast. I'm Cara Lynn, and here we dive deep into the journey of healing and wellness. If you're ready to learn, feel empowered, and take charge of your health, you're in the right place. Welcome back to the show. Today, I'm actually really excited for this episode because we have a lobbyist here with us. I've never interviewed a lobbyist before, so I'm excited to talk to you about everything you're fighting for on Capitol Hill. and things like that. And so this is Emily Stembridge. And I actually met you years ago when you were a stay-at-home mom with little kids, and now you're a lobbyist years later. So I'm so curious, how in the world does one go from a stay-at-home mom to a lobbyist? Like, how'd you get there? What took you there? I sometimes say it was a little bit accidentally on purpose. I, years ago, worked at the state health department in public health, in environmental epidemiology, actually. And after starting having kids shortly after, I left that and decided to be a stay-at-home mom, dabbled in a few things here and there. But I had kind of that government background, right? And the state health department, many of the agencies, they deal with the legislature, obviously funding and different things. They have to deal with that legislative session each year and all those legislators. And they have to report to them too on the things they're working on. My father-in-law is a lobbyist, has been for at least 30 years now. And he went out on his own doing some contract work and he needed help. And so with my kind of public health and government background and some of his contracts were around health type issues, he and I'm also typically not afraid of confrontation. He asked me if I wanted to come help. And so I, you know, strapped on some business clothes, put away the diapers, got a nanny sort of and went up to the hill. Yeah. So interesting. Well, I know now you fight for a lot of public health things and for food and different things. Is that what you started doing? No, not in the way that I am now, not in not the same degree. And it was I kind of just helped with whatever clients he was getting. And so some of them are in social impact, public health, social impact type combination issues. Some were even, you know, kind of around pharmaceuticals, eye doctors, different different kind of more random things. So how did you get to the place of always advocating for food and public health? You know, I did it very part-time for the first several, several years. And then a few years ago, as my kids were a little older, I found I had a little more bandwidth and maybe a little more time. My father-in-law went off and works full-time for a company. And so it was up to me if I wanted to kind of take over contracts and continue the work. And so I realized, okay, I have more time. I can do this on a more full-time level. But also at the same time, I had really dived in on our own health as a family and sharing that with others and recognizing the food system and agriculture and all these things that went into our health and how important that was. And I realized I have these skills. I'm up at this place where policy and decisions are being made. I could do something with this. And if I'm going to work, I want to work on things I actually care about and that I'm passionate about and that are going to leave a better world for my kids. Oh, I love that. Okay, so you viewers or listeners, she advocates for like getting rid of the junk in our food and being careful with pesticides and all the things that I teach about on Instagram. And so I'm curious though, did you learn this, all these like health things just as a mom wanting to do better for your kids or have you always lived this lifestyle? So I grew up in a very health conscious family, lucky for me, and parents that cared a lot about health And that was always kind of evolving. They were always learning. And so then they were changing habits according to what they were learning. They even wrote a cookbook in like the 70s for how to cook without sugar. Oh, awesome. Hilarious. And my mom actually was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was eight years old. And they felt very strongly that they did not want to do the standard of care, the regular treatment that's involved with that. And that completely changed everything health-wise for them. Like I said, they were already health conscious. But this is when they actually completely shifted their lifestyle and eating habits. And as a little kid, that really affected me. And, you know, while I didn't understand it, I was young. That just became a really big part of our family and our family culture. And so I was always interested in health and always understood as well, you have to take charge of it. And it's up to you to learn about it and to make choices and be intentional. And yeah, just how you're going to incorporate that. Well, I love that you've taken that passion to Capitol Hill. Yeah. And we reconnected last year when you were working on the food additives bill. Yeah. And so why don't you tell them what that was and what happened? Okay. So this bill was a passion project for me. So again, lobbyists, you typically work for a company or I'm contracts. So clients come to me and they contract me to work on an issue for them. I didn't have anyone to pay for this. Shocker. No one wanted to pay to get food dyes out of school. But it's something that I cared about. And again, going back to me realizing I have, I'm already there. I have these relationships. I have connections. I have some skills. I know how the process works. I could do something with this. So it had been on my heart and my mind to, to what could I do that would at least move the needle? And I had landed on school lunches and, you know, potentially toxins within it, or how can we change school lunches? And I really wanted to do something, but I kept really struggling with self-doubt and imposter syndrome and just who am I to do this? And then credit to you, you had that premiere of the To Die For documentary last December. And, you know, I just it was that final push that I needed. Like, OK, I really need to do this. You know, you need to do this. Do it. And that's awesome. Yeah. And so right then and there, which that was December and this legislative session in Utah starts in January. So talk about crunch time. I just was like, OK, I'm going to go for it. Amazing. Yeah. OK, but tell them what the bill entailed for those that don't know. Yeah. So we started out saying that no dyes, any of the petroleum-based food dyes, as well as propylparaben, potassium bromate, titanium dioxide. I think I'm getting all of them in a school, any of the foods in school. And that included vending machines, everything from the beginning, even what was in teachers' classrooms. Now, as a bill goes, we start big knowing we're probably going to have to give some things up and negotiate a few things out. That's the nature of it. And so we did have to make a few changes. Titanium dioxide ended up coming out. Vending machines came out, which I did some research there at schools. And they're in some ways not as terrible as they were when I was growing up. Michelle Obama, some of the stuff she did there actually came and took some things out. And it didn't feel like as big of an issue. But yeah, so that just so no school lunch or breakfast can contain any of those chemicals. And then even the teachers have to be careful about what they give kids to. I love that. And so that is for the state of Utah. It's for the state of Utah. And then I remember it was a ripple effect because then multiple states started following after that. And then we know we have a federal ban on artificial dyes coming soon. Hopefully, yep. Hopefully, yes. And so it was like you were the beginning of a ripple effect for states across the country. We like to say tidal wave. A tidal wave. There you go. For all the states, I mean, I feel like that was a beautiful collaboration of, you know, like-minded people across the nation who were like, OK, you know what? This is literally government's job. We've trusted FDA to do this. They're not. And, you know, I think there's a lot of affecting factors. I think people are trying to do good things. But, you know, even the director in December 2024 himself said we are blocked for many of the things that we try to do from powerful industry forces. And so for the states, sometimes we have a little more leeway or just we can get more done sometimes. And, you know, we have less red tape sometimes. And so if the states do it, it lifts everybody up. Right. And it gives that motivation and that push and that lift even to the federal government. And the tidal wave part, we just like to say we saw a tidal wave from industry because by the states doing this, how many companies have we now seen that are saying, OK, we'll take it out. No, we'll use it no longer. We'll not even reformulate. We'll use the ingredients and the recipes we're using in other countries sometimes. Yeah. Oh, I have so many things I could say right now. But let's start with, I love that you said you saw the documentary To Die For, which was just put on by a mom and dad who had just had it with the help system because they'd seen what dies were doing to their child. And so he made videos as a living and just decided to do this documentary. It went to theaters, went on to Netflix, I think. You then saw it. Yeah. That gave you the push. At the premiere. Oh, that's awesome. And that gave you the push to do this bill, which then passed, which then affected other states. And so it's crazy what a mom who has a passion or a dad, a mom or dad that has a passion for their kids, what we can do. Yeah, absolutely. But yet you doubted yourself for a minute, which we all do. It's just our human nature to doubt. But we got to throw that doubt away because look at what you did. It was powerful. Well, and it was such a beautiful collaboration of so many people pitching in, you know, helping with one pagers. People making calls, my friends, my family. You know, when you guys posted, people called in. I mean, it's so many individual people making a huge impact. So let's talk about that because I know there's a lot of like stay-at-home moms that listen to this podcast. And they always are wanting to do good, but they don't know where to start. And so it can be as easy as making a call or writing an email, right? I mean, a text. Even these legislators have their own legislative phone and they get texts on them. And I always tell people text is one of the best ways because they'll read it. It's right there. It's not buried in 75,000 emails. And it's easy for you to send to. Right. So that's actually a hugely impactful way. Yeah. Moms texting and writing and emailing in changed how school lunches will do. It absolutely does. I've seen even just a few individuals derail an entire policy. So that is incredible. Yeah. So for the moms or dads listening, it's almost like we'll start at the community level, I feel like of what you can do locally. Yes. And then if you feel comfortable there, maybe then move to the state level. Yeah. I mean, I think so much of what makes a big change is our everyday choices, right? Which the choices you make for your family and then maybe you share with a neighbor and a friend or, you know, you talk about different products that you really like and why you switch to those and the impact they had. And then, you know, go to your school, get to know your school administration, join PTA or school community council. Last year at the end of school, I asked, you know, even though our bill had passed, it doesn't go into effect for a little while. And our school for field day was going to do Otter Pops. And I said, would you consider doing a dye-free option? I have some friends who are willing to help out if we need a little bit, if it's a little above the budget. You know, these are, go to your lunch lady. Ask them about how they're choosing the menu. Go to the teacher in the classroom. They often have allergen-free classrooms. Ask them if they could treat free incentives or at least dye-free. Or there's so many options just at your everyday level. Well, go get to know your city council members, you know. Oh, I love on. No, I love all of those suggestions because they're easy and attainable things that we can do. OK, well, I am curious to know what you're fighting on Capitol Hill for now. Are you involved in multiple bills? Yes. All health related? Not all health related. Some are social impact, which, you know, is another thing I think all of us can can care about as well. And there's some really amazing things that are in some of them are kind of health adjacent. Like there's a maternity leave bill right now, not, you know, and it has some breastfeeding protections and pumping protections in it. So lots of different exciting things. Like I said, I've really tried to tailor my work to only have clients for issues that I truly care about and can sleep a night and that I want, you know, for the next generation to have a better, this will better their world, hopefully. I wish all lobbyists were like that. Me too. I think, well, OK, is this a misconception that most lobbyists are out there just for the money, being paid the big bucks to say one thing or another? I mean, stereotypes often exist because there's some truth to them. There are plenty of those. Right. And I wouldn't say all of them have malicious intent. You know, this is a career for some people. And so and if you're good at it, I mean, you're probably going to take more and more clients. But, you know, for me, I can't work on things that I'm not passionate about, that I don't that I don't have all my buy in on. And, you know, this is personality for me. But there are lobbyists up there that are working on great things, too, that aren't trendy and as exciting, but affect your everyday life. And they're important to school issues. Like I mentioned, social impact. I mean, so many different things. But, yeah, I mean, there are also some questionable motivations as well, for sure. That's why we need good people doing good things out there. Yep. Okay. I'm curious if there is something that sort of shocked you once you became a lobbyist and saw what was going on in the inside. I think just how much is going on all the time, and especially during that session, and how few people seem to know or care about it. You know, I think everything that's up there affects your every single day life, potentially, every, you know, decision, roads, schools, all of it, and how many people are not engaged. Myself included, once I was up there, I thought, how have I been living under a rock? And this determines so much. Well, even being up there last year, I had that same thought like, oh, my gosh, they are passing things about schools. It was parks. It was the pesticides. It was our food. It was so many things. I'm like, how for all these years have I not known what they are passing every year? Yeah. So few people engage. Which is why we need to be more involved. Yes. Agreed. Yeah. OK, so tell me one of the health bills that you're working on that you're passionate about. Okay, well, we've got our food chemical bill coming back only because, like I talked about, some of the things we had to negotiate out, we'd like to get them back in, like titanium dioxide. And then there is a bill, also the same legislator, Christian Chevrier. She's fantastic. She's who ran the dye bill. She's also running a bill around menstrual products and requiring that all of them have ingredient labels with everything in them, especially heavy metals, either intentionally or unintentionally added. They have to be listed if they're in the product. Oh, my goodness. Okay let talk about both those bills first before you move on Okay so the first one Why did titanium dioxide not make the cut the first year So there was a lobbyist that has a client probably won call them out I guess that doesn want this included They, according to them and what they feel is their research, it doesn't show enough data to show that it's actually toxic. And this is where it can get a little interesting sometimes within especially health and sort of scientific data. because, you know, we point to Europe a lot, right? And they take a very proactive approach. And America often, I would say, takes a reactive approach. And so we're trying to point to, especially when it comes to children, let's be proactive. I mean, these are food chemicals. They serve no nutritional purpose. They're usually just for coloring or, you know, some unnecessary area. And so why? Why have it? If we even think, if there's data to show that we cannot rule out that it causes health harms potentially, why include it? Right. So a lot of countries in Europe ban titanium dioxide, but we allow it in our foods. And school lunches still allowed it after your bill last year. So that is the chemical you're fighting for to get it out. Yes, one of them. Yep. What are some of the other ones? Well, they're the same ones that were on the list last year because we're trying to add back in some of the charter schools and the rural schools that we had to negotiate out at the last minute. Like I said, even just a few people influenced us having to negotiate that out. And because we're on a time crunch, sometimes you take things out just so you know you can get it over the finish line. Because sometimes any win is a big win. And it will lead to a bigger win. So it passed for public schools to get all these chemicals out of school lunches, but it didn't for the charter and rural schools. So that's what you're trying to add back in. Which are still public, But yeah, there are arguments around it. All right. So I'm curious about titanium dioxide and why you don't like it. You know, there's just enough data out there to show that we don't know enough about nanoparticles and that's how it's applied to food. But it shows that nanoparticles can accumulate in the body and lead to genotoxicity, DNA damage. And I mean, if there's a question about it, again, why put it in? Right. I know that's my biggest thing is like if we see the science, why even put it in? Let's just make food with real food. Food that nourishes the body. Amen. Oh, I love that you're fighting for this. Thank you. Okay, so that is basically a bill from last year that you're trying to push along a little bit more. Oh, the vending machines. Are you including the vending machines or no? We're not. Again, sometimes there's a fight. You just have to know what hill to die on, basically. One thing at a time. Yeah, and honestly, when I looked at the vending machines, they weren't as problematic as I thought they would be. And many schools actually told me the kids don't even eat from the vending machines. Interesting. Well, my son is in the hospital right now and seeing the vending machines in the hospital waiting rooms, I'm dying. I'm like, okay, all these people in the waiting room are now going to be in your hospital after eating all this junk in the vending machines. And the hospital food. It's another one on my list. And you know what? Okay, I have to say congrats to the hospital that he's at. There actually are some decent options. There are some crap options. I will say that. But I've been a little impressed with some of the decent options that they have. So that's evolving. But like I said, there's still crap, but at least they had some good options. At least there's something. Well, maybe I'll have to come fight vending machines with you or hospital food with you because... I got a big list for you. We can look it over. I would love to. Okay, let's go to the menstrual one. That is a really interesting one. So tell me more about this one. Yeah, so again, it's focused on heavy metals. And there can be a lot of them in menstrual products, it turns out. And they're not really intentionally added, right? They come into the different ingredients that go into menstrual products and sometimes from the processing of those ingredients. But, you know, we just, Representative Chevrolet, just wanted to provide kind of informed consent, right? Just awareness and full transparency on you should know what are in your products or not. And so is it a label that goes on the products that will show every ingredient? Like, are you requiring every ingredient plus the heavy metals to be shown? Yes. I mean, those are kind of seen as an ingredient, basically, that they're going to contain. So yeah, every ingredient has to be listed on the box or on the packaging itself. Even like byproducts that happen during manufacturing? If they're a heavy metal, yeah. Because what's interesting is a lot of products out there will have byproducts that are created during the manufacturing, and then they don't have to be listed on the label because they are a byproduct. Right. Or I'm learning with food, if you have a manufacturing aid, so if you have to use like canola oil in your processing, but yet some of the canola oil gets into your product, you don't have to list it because it's a manufacturing aid. Yes. Which is crazy. It is crazy. And so we never have to list heavy metals. Yeah. And so... Now they will be required. I mean, assuming it passes. If it passes. Early stages. But yeah. And does it look like it's going to pass? It still hasn't gone to committee yet. Oh, okay. So I don't know. But it was introduced during what we call interim sessions. That's when we're outside of legislation. They still meet a few times a month and go to committee meetings. And it was introduced and there was actually a lot of positivity around it. So I'm very hopeful for it. What is the main heavy metal that is found in those menstrual products? It kind of depends product to product, honestly. But, you know, we're talking lead, cadmium, arsenic. I'm forgetting the list of all of them, but all of those were big heavy hitters in there. Well, I could see lead being a problem just because like cotton is grown from the earth. And lead is in products that are grown from the earth. so I could see that being a problem. So do menstrual products right now, besides the heavy metals, do they not list all of their ingredients? It's a good question. I don't know totally in depth, but I mean, they don't have to list, you know, heavy metals or like you said, byproducts or things that sort of aren't necessarily the ingredient itself, if that makes sense. So your bill is mainly to get the heavy metals on the package. Yeah. That is so interesting. We talk about heavy metals in foods, but rarely do people talk about it in menstrual products. Right, right. I mean, other products that use, you know, something grown a lot of times end up with things like heavy metals because of pesticides or different additives along the way. Yeah, so interesting. Okay, talking pesticides, though, you do have a pesticide bill that you're working on. Yeah. Okay, tell me about that one. So it is still very much developed. Well, it's in development, I guess is what I'll say. We're going to have to change some things. Like I mentioned before, you know, you start, sometimes you start big or you start with your entire wish list knowing that some things are going to have to change. And some of that is also just because of the feedback you get from people, right, from stakeholders. So people who are invested in whatever this bill talks about. And it's important to listen to others and stakeholders and those involved because you get really important perspectives and things that, you know, you as a person, for instance, pesticides affect farmers. Well, I'm not a farmer, so I don't understand the everyday process of those things. So I need to listen to farmers, for instance, right? Sorry, long explanation. But we're trying to put in a thousand foot no spray zone of a list of right now eight pesticides. We also have something about posting signs when other pesticides are used on school grounds. But again, like I said, that is probably going to get tweaked a little bit, but that's where it stands right now. So a thousand foot border by schools. Yes, around schools. Oh, OK. No spray zone within a thousand feet of schools. So that they're not out at recess playing and pesticides are being sprayed or have been used on the grass that they're playing. Yeah, or just drifted from an adjacent farm or large property. And what are some of these pesticides? Paraquat's a big one. We're very focused on Paraquat linked to Parkinson's disease. We've got glyphosate on the list for now. That one's always a little hard, right? We've got, and I don't know how to say all of these totally correctly, but 2,4-D-chloripyrophos, I believe that's how we say it, D-quat-debromide. Big common ones. Big common, yeah. Atrazine, that's a big one too. Yeah, that is. Yeah. And why is glyphosate, you said, oh, I don't know if that will stay on the list. Why is that? You know, that one's always, I think probably everyone's heard it in the headlines, at least if you're interested in health. It can be a very controversial pesticide. pesticide. You know, it's one that I think a lot of health really points to its negative effects, especially as a carcinogen. We see lawsuits all over the place for people that were affected. However, it's also a very common use pesticide and one that, you know, people in ag or in pesticide industry like to say is very thoroughly studied, extensively studied and shows that it's not harmful to human health. But there's a lot of contradicting data on that. I know. Glyphosate drives me crazy because we do know it's a carcinogen. We also know it can disrupt the gut microbiome, which then that causes a lot of things. There's actually some studies about glyphosate and depression causing issues with that. So many studies on glyphosate, but then you do have big ag or even all these other industry, food industries say otherwise. And it's a constant battle in the courts and still is right now. Well, and just the court of public opinion even too. So that's a hard one as well. Which is crazy because we see so many people that have gotten cancer from the glyphosate and still people are like, oh no, it's fine. Me too. Or even more so, people don't even realize that they're eating it. They're like, oh, what's glyphosate? Oh, I'm eating it? How am I eating it? Yeah, for sure. They don't realize it's pervasive. Yeah. So crazy. Yeah. And then a fertilizer that's linked to Parkinson's? Paraquat? Yeah, Paraquat. Okay, so that's a pesticide as well. usually sprayed on often on apples or nuts or pistachios. Yeah, there's a lot of data out there as well about it being linked to Parkinson's disease. Yeah. And so why is this a debate? Like if we know it's linked to that, why are we even debating it? Yeah, I mean, good question. But again, you know, there's these differing opinions, these differing thought camps, I guess you could say, right? And there's some data, EPA data for pesticides is produced by the company themselves. And there is some reason for that because it's very costly, right? We don't want necessarily the government agency having to absorb all that cost to test it, these differing products. But then that can also lead to bias, obviously, as well. And even some dishonesty sometimes. Oh my goodness, some dishonesty? Yeah, I'm trying to be a little... You're trying to say the words nicely. or a lot of money involved. Yes. That is what is happening, I think, with glyphosate. Yes. Billions of dollars involved. Billions of dollars. And so once again, as a mom, as an individual, as a dad, whatever, we have to stand up for our own health, be advocates of our own health, and be knowledgeable of what we're putting in our body. Yeah. It's the most powerful thing you can do is your everyday choices. Yeah, that is for sure. Okay. So any others that you're working on at Capitol Hill? You know, yeah, like I mentioned, there's a few social impact that is really cool. They're focused on family affordability for Utah, which, you know, that's another big thing Utah families are facing. You know, this economy is and just the economy of Utah is is different. And that happens in a lot of states. Right. It's different than it used to be even probably when you and I were starting out having families. So just trying to address families' needs where they're at. Different things like tax credits, maternity leave, like I said, even the cell phone bill. Actually, that's one I'd like to kind of point out because this is also health adjacent. This is mental health, right? And so we did a cell phone bill last year and they wanted it to be bell to bell and that didn't go over well. And so they said, OK, fine, it's just within the classroom. And so this year they're coming back bell to bell. But this is the state default. And so it still allows for local control. So, you know, don't go crazy if you feel like you don't want that in your district. Your district probably has their own policy and they're allowed to continue having that. Okay, wait, let's back up. Okay, so we have a bill being fought for on Capitol Hill. No cell phones on the school grounds from bell to bell. Yes. Well, they can be on the grounds, but the kids can't be on them. So in their backpack or something, in their pocket, whatever. Yeah. Okay, but if this passes, then the school districts can still choose whatever they'd like? So the bill contains policy that says, please come up with a policy for your school. And if you choose not to, the state default will be bell to bell. Which in a lot of districts or schools have decided no cell phones, bell to bell. Or some of them have said just not in the classroom and they provide a place for the cell phone to go even. Different things like that. So local control is, you know, we value that here in Utah and for good reason and, you know, across the country too. So we don't want to necessarily take that away either. Are you thinking this bill will pass? Yes, it's done well so far. It didn't pass last year. It didn't pass bell to bell. We went just classroom last year. And that was something that, you know, had to be negotiated. But they decided, you know, we're going to take a bigger stance this year. And are they doing this for mental health reasons for the kids or just it's a disruption in class? All of the above. All of the above. But yeah, I mean, we are seeing so much information now around mental health and kids and screens. And, you know, I'm not working on this bill, but can I tell you about one that I love? Yes. This one's really exciting. I really hope that it passes. But they're working on some things around tech and screens in the classroom from elementary all the way to high school. And so, for instance, kindergarten through third will no longer be allowed to be doing learning on screens. Interesting. And then fourth through sixth grade, it needs to be in a computer lab. and not in the classroom if they're going to be on a screen. And so hopefully that will limit the time a little more. And then junior high, they no longer want them to be able to have laptops that come home. They need to stay at school if they're going to work. And then high school would be when they can have laptops that come to and from. Oh, interesting. That'll be interesting to see what happens because I do know my junior high kids, they're given a Chromebook and it comes home with them every night. Yeah, that was kind of shocking for me. I had a seventh grader this year and we don't do screens at home. And suddenly here she comes with her own school issued laptop. And I was like, um, I feel a little undermined as a parent here. What am I supposed to do with this? Well, and then they have homework, though, on it. And a lot of assignments sometimes on those. Yeah, they do. I mean I will say she gets the majority done at school and not that that everyone But I think that there a way to make it work Yeah sure I think we let ourselves become too dependent And I think that you know for how many years decades and decades really only until the last maybe decade or so have we gotten so dependent on these screens. We know there's another way. We've lived another way. That will be interesting to see what happens with that. Let's take a quick break to hear from our show sponsor. For a long time, the food industry told us this is just how it's done. We chose another path, products made with real food and transparent formulas, without natural or artificial flavors, unnecessary fillers, or questionable sources. As a certified nutritionist and mom, I saw how much of what we consume every day affects our energy, our mood, and our ability to show up for our lives. I wanted better options, not just for my family, but for yours. That's why I started Just Ingredients. 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And so we take that and we develop the idea and the bill and bill language, as we call it. And then that bill language has to go to a drafting attorney, right? It has to be written up legally and make sure that there's research and everything to find out, does this already exist? What other laws or rules or codes will this affect? And so we have to get that bill language right in there. And then I'm kind of simplifying a little bit here, but then it would be introduced as a bill and numbered. So it gets a literal number so that we can identify what this is. And then it's going to go to what's called Rules Committee. And Rules Committee will review it, maybe also still look at it for other conflicts that could come up with the bill, different things like that. And then they will assign it to a committee. And if the bill starts either in the House or the Senate, then it will either start in a House or Senate committee. And the Rules Committee decides where is the best place for this bill to go next, depending on the category, the topic of it. And then it will go to that committee, which, you know, differing committees have different numbers of members. And so, but the smaller, smaller group of House or Senate members, and they will vote on that bill. And committee will be presented, it will be voted on. And if it passes, then it will go back to the rules committee who will submit it to the House or, well, Or the Stedler Chamber. Whichever. Yeah. Yeah. So it will go to that floor and then it will be voted on on that floor, as we call it, chambered, either the House or the Senate. And so the entire body of House representatives or Senate senators will vote on that bill. And again, it will have a short kind of presentation. And they can debate. All this comes with debate as well. And then they'll vote on it. And assuming it passes there, then it would go either to the opposing chair or not opposing, but the opposite chamber committee. So we'll say it started in the House. It will go to a Senate committee of the same typical category. And then that's you. Senate usually has a smaller amount of members. And you came up for a Senate committee. And I think we only had like six people there that day, right? And they were about to determine the fate of this bill. I was so shocked that it was only six people. Yes. And so, again, it's presented in committee. There can be debate and questions. People can give public comment. I kind of forgot to mention that at each of these committee meetings is where people get to give public comment. And that's such a big deal. And then they vote. And then again, if we assume that it passes that, then it would go to, we'll say, the Senate or whichever opposite chamber floor and be presented yet again and voted on. And with the Senate, it actually has to be voted on twice on the floor. It's quite the process. That is quite the process. I will say even after that, even after all that, and we say, OK, it passed. We win. It still has to be signed by the governor. And so he doesn't have to physically sign every bill. He can just choose not to do anything. And then it officially goes into law by, I think it's three weeks after the session ends. If he doesn't veto it, then it just becomes law or he can choose to kind of put his stamp of approval on it and sign it. So you still have to worry about even a governor veto potentially. Wow, that is a lot of work. Yeah. Like I said, I was so shocked with only six people making all of these decisions. So then I started thinking, well, I really need to study up on all of these people that I'm voting for, I should say. So how do people actually study up on these representatives? Yeah. So this is something I feel like I've definitely become even more passionate about, understandably. and you know i mean they're very accessible when they're when it's an election year when they're running right i mean they want you to come meet them and talk to them and go to town halls or presentations or fundraisers they're available to the public because they're trying to win your vote so i would say you know attend as much as you can go find out where they're speaking or just call them so many of them will give you their phone number right go meet them or call them and talk to them about the issues that you care about and ask them how they feel about it if they've already been up there, ask them how they voted on certain things in the past. Ask them what their priorities are for the future. What do they want to work on? And, you know, get to know them. They are very much available when, and it's an election year, people. So this is the time. Is there a place online to just read about them? Yep. They all have their own websites that they'll talk about some of their different platforms and things that they care about. I still very much encourage, you know, maybe at least even finding a recording of them speaking and answering questions if you can't go attend in person because what you get from a website isn't really going to be the full picture. And you want to hear how they answer questions and respond to things. Well, and this is just an easy way for people to be more involved is to purely learn more about who they're voting for. Yes. Yeah. And also, I do think there's some value in asking others who may know them or know about them and why they're voting for them. don't base your vote on that but it's also interesting to get different perspectives from others who might know them too yes such good advice yeah okay so let's talk about the house committee yeah this was so interesting or a senate committee let's do a senate committee so i thought it was so interesting because like you said there's only six people that were going to vote on this bill whether it was the chemicals were going to be taken out of the school lunches or not and i was like i went home and i was like this is why it's so important to vote for your people and know who you're voting for because six people had a bill about all school lunches. Right. It was in the fate of their hands. Right. And some of them were not for it. Yeah. Which was so shocking to me. I was like, why would we not want to make our food at school lunches more nourishing? And they were against it. Yeah. And the other thing is I was shocked with all the people talking for the different bills because there were always people for the bill and people against the bill. And so how do you become one of those people that get to talk at the microphone and give your opposing or in favor of views? Yeah. So that's public comment. And each bill, or even we call an RFA, a request for funding, has to open up to public comment and allow that time for the public to come and give their opinions. And so you just show up. That's the biggest thing. This is talking about a huge thing you can do. And I always tell people, if you actually come up to Capitol Hill and you come to a committee meeting and you comment in person, it's worth, I don't know, 20 to 30 of you because so few people do it and they know the effort that it takes for people to come. So when you come, it amplifies voices because it shows that this means so much to one person. It means a lot to a lot of people. But yeah, you just show up. You can actually also come online. You can give public comment online. You'll be on camera and on microphone as well. And so, yeah, it's just paying attention, finding out when these committee meetings are happening. Yeah, I love. So listeners, if you want to do something, go. It's only like a minute. You get two minutes unless they cut it down. Two minutes that you get to tell them your reason why the bill should pass or shouldn't pass. And I thought that was so powerful because there were a lot of people giving good reasons and other bills I sat through to watch. And it was really interesting hearing the pros and cons for these bills. And so listeners, that's an easy thing to go do. Go just advocate at a committee hearing for whatever bill it is that you're passionate about. Right. An easy thing. And I just cannot reiterate enough how impactful it is when you show up. And I don't think people realize that. They don't. Because it was really amazing listening to these people. I remember there was a bill before ours, people trying to get swim lessons approved like at the high school. And they had a lot of people there for and against it. And I was like, oh, this is a passionate bill for a lot of people. Yeah, it didn't pass, which I thought was so sad. I felt really bad for them because there were so many people wanting it. Yeah. But I was like, I don't know, there's like 30 people and they're advocating for it. And then six people got to decide, no, we're not doing this. Yeah. And I will say with that, there's a lot of work behind the scenes. And that's where someone like me comes in. Right. Because when I go to committee, I've already I better have if I'm worth my weight. I have talked to every single one of those legislators who's in that committee. And I more or less them. Yeah, that's the thing. Yeah. I've educated them. I've told them. Right. Why we really want this. And I've also heard their concerns and I've tried to address those and their questions. And I, you know, hopefully have a pretty good understanding of what their vote will be. So, again, can't count your chickens before they hatch. but you tend to roughly know where you're going to stand when you go to committee. And I remember, though, when the school lunch one was trying to get passed, you guys were a little iffy on some people which direction they were going to vote. So you guys were a little nervous. I'm always nervous because, again, even if I have talked to someone and they've told me, yeah, I'm good with it, things can suddenly come up in the middle of committee. You know, we had that happen in our House committee. I had talked to everyone. I was like, we're good. We're solid. And then all of a sudden they started bringing these questions forward that I'm like, why didn't you tell me when I was talking to you? So, yeah, I mean, it's always it's a roller coaster and there's always surprises. But, you know, again, you are working that committee hard to at least, you know, have a good idea of where things are going to land or, you know, at least have spoken to each of them so you know that they know the information you need them to know. Okay, so I'm curious. You do a lot for the state level. Is there anything exciting happening at the federal level, and do you help at the federal level? Yeah, I've started kind of expanding into the federal level a little bit as an advocate. I've actually been helping Moms Across America, for instance, who's had some great efforts in that area. So there's been the Pesticide Immunity Shield. I think that's been in the news a lot, providing immunity to pesticide companies and basically keeping anyone from having recourse if they are harmed by a pesticide, which anytime you give an industry immunity, typically bad behavior follows. So that's not really ever a good idea. Yeah, that one is crazy. I've been hearing a lot about it. And so let's maybe just explain a little bit more. So is it Bayer that is trying? I mean, it's all of them. It would be pesticide industry across the board. So, OK, I've been seeing it mainly with Bayer and glyphosate. Right. And they're the big hitters. Right. And they're, yes, in a spotlight for sure. But you've got Syngenta, you've got multiple companies would cover an entire industry, which seems crazy that you would give them blanket immunity. Yes. So these people that are getting cancer from glyphosate, then they can't go back and sue glyphosate or get any reconciliation from them. Right. And what they'll say is, well, no, they can file a lawsuit. And yeah, they can file a lawsuit, but it will be almost immediately dismissed because it would create an impossibility, a clause that would just show, well, the FDA or the EPA said we can't update the label. And so therefore we couldn't warn anyone. And so therefore this suit doesn't, needs to be thrown out by the court. Because they have immunity. Because, yeah, we couldn't do anything about it. So that's the main one you're working on. So that's one of them. And it's come through a different several different avenues, which that's what's kind of scary about it is they've had it in multiple different appropriations bills or and now it's in the farm bill. So we got it out in Senate and House appropriation, but now it's in the farm bill and kind of a different avenue. And they've actually been also attacking it from the state level as well. So they're on multiple fronts, which has been, I mean, just kind of diabolical, honestly. And then there was actually something with telecom where they were trying to do federal preemption that would keep states or anyone from making the decisions about where cell towers goes. And that actually has a lot of health impacts. Yeah, we worked on that. And there were some things around food chemicals as well that I was working on that would have kept the states from even being able to pass the policies that we've passed around this. But we were able to get that out of a bill. And did I hear that there's a bill about homeopathics? Yes, there is a bill that was just recently introduced around homeopathy because FDA was saying that homeopathy was going to have to be regulated the same way as pharmaceuticals, which is pretty crazy because they're just they're very different. Very different. Right. And pharmaceuticals, right, they have huge pockets to run different kinds of tests and clinical trials. And they were trying to impose the same regulations on homeopathy and it just doesn't function the same way and would have effectively probably obliterated homeopathy. And so there's a bill to kind of just separate the two and say these are different and they need to be regulated differently and homeopathy needs to be protected. Okay, so are these federal laws similar to local, meaning people can get involved and write people, email, text, call? Yes. What can people do? Because like this glyphosate, this immunity one to pesticides, what can people do about it? So reach out to your representatives from your state your congresspeople your senators for sure absolutely You know don let them hear the end of it Get their phone ringing off the hook But because it federal you can also reach out you know anyone on the ag committee for instance That's who's going to be looking at the farm bill. You know, any other legislator, while they're for a particular state, they still have a responsibility to the nation because they're making decisions in effect for the nation. So calling any of them, especially when they're on maybe a particular committee, is important. Reaching out to anyone that you can find access to is important. Getting on their Twitter, you know, their social media accounts as well. Yeah. Well, and even as easy as signing some of these petitions, I've seen a ton of petitions going around for the immunity one. Yes. Yeah. You can sign something like that for sure. Maybe if you are part of or you know an organization that can sign on to them, too, that can be really big if they show entire organizations support or don't support an initiative. But, yeah, reaching out to your legislators and especially, you know, calling in or emailing, that's huge. They want to hear from you. So easy things that people can do that might make a huge impact. Yeah. I mean, not might. They will. That will make a big impact. It takes seconds. Okay. So I'm curious, what wins give you the most hope right now with what's going on in Capitol Hill? You know, honestly, what just gives me hope is that we have a national stage and a spotlight right now on health. That it is at the forefront. That it's becoming culturally acceptable. That people are caring about it. I mean, that is what excites me and gives me the most hope is that it's finally becoming more well-known, more accepted, and people are getting interested in it. Yeah, they're wanting to take care of their bodies finally. Yes. Okay, so here's a question for you then, taking care of your bodies. Where does the government play a role in health versus our role in health? Right, right. We actually get this question a lot with most of the things that we're working on is what is, is this the role of government? And it's an important question to ask for sure, because we want to keep, you know, freedom and freedom of choice. I mean, that needs to exist at all times. Right. However, we've also put agencies in place that we have decided to trust to regulate these things. Because again, you know, we need someone to be watching over and be looking into these things and be, you know, regulating some of these things, right? It's why we have, for instance, the FDA or ag. But then we see things like grass generally recognized as safe, which is what the food dyes have come in under, right? And, you know, we've heard from people inside it that they even struggle to do their job sometimes because of outside forces. And so, you know, I think that policy can be something that's really powerful. We've got to make sure that people are being taken care of, that they're being safe. Things like the food system, right? Things like agriculture. How can we, even with agriculture, the government can help advocate and fund or support systems like regenerative, organic farming, right? Just offer a pathway for farmers or people who would like to do better in these areas. And so I think it's, yeah, finding those areas where we can do better, like school lunch, I mean, that is affected by decisions and funding from the government. And so if we don't talk about and, I guess, somewhat regulate, have policy around what can go in those school lunches or meals, I mean, then I guess it's kind of a free-for-all, right? And parents often don't know better. We don't get to read the ingredient labels of what's on the lunch tray. And some kids out there have to have school lunch. Exactly. Due to cost. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I love that. And so taking it one step further, should it be a state law, a federal policy? Because now we're seeing federal policies around food and things happen. Right. This is a good question, too, because sometimes we deal with things called preemption. And that's where, for instance, there could be federal preemption that keeps states from having say. Or we talked about cell phone bills, protecting that local control. And I do think there's a lot of value in, as we know, you know, smaller geographical or whatever areas they know may be best for their demographic. And so we want to preserve that. But we also, again, have these agencies that are trusted to regulate these things. And so I would like to see the FDA and EPA function at a level that focuses on protection of people and be able to do their job to the best of their abilities while still allowing for local, you know, opinions and local feedback, local input as well. So I'm curious. We've seen the FDA change, EPA change. We've seen lots of changes over the last little bit. Where do you think we will be in five years from now? especially with the food policies let's say that you know it's hard to say I do have a lot of hope I feel like I have more hope in these areas than maybe ever before watching my own parents um like I said just do things I mean talk about what felt like pioneering you know I mean they didn't have all the you know social media and internet and blogs with recipes I mean they were just out there in the Wild West doing it on their own. So, you know, my hope is that it transcends politics. That would be the biggest thing. And that it stays a priority for people, that it doesn't just go away as a trend. You know, I hope people really engage in this and prioritize it in their life and then feel the effects of that and want to continue choosing better habits, being more intentional and spreading that amongst the community as well. My hope in the next five years. I know I don't think it would get to this point, but I wish it was really simple. Yeah. We make food from food. That's it. Right. There you go. Right. We make food from food. Yeah. And it's not a Republican issue. It's not a Democratic issue. It is an issue for all humans. Right. Because all humans need nourishing things put in their body. So let's make food from food and call it good. Right. And that's what comes from those individual everyday choices. That's what really makes that. Because we're not to that point. That is why it is so important for the individual. to just choose for themselves what they're putting in their body. Yeah. Okay. One last question for you. Okay. If you could pass any law today, what would it be? Oh, it's such a hard question. And kind of also going back to that, what is the role of government situation? And so much of we talk about you can mandate into oblivion, but if you don't have people's buy-in, it doesn't matter. You can't just force everyone to be better kind of thing. So I don't know that I would pass a law, but I think I would, you know, really hope for something around maybe, you know, support and funding and education around holistic natural functional medicine and Western medicine. How can we encourage those to shake hands and become best friends? Oh, I love that one. You know, work together. I think incredible things could come from that. And then also much more support and, you know, potentially funding or programs around organic regenerative farming. Oh, I love that, too. Yeah. Those would be two amazing ones. Yeah. With my son in the hospital right now, I did this story the other day that I'm like, I am so grateful for Western medicine. I really am. My dad was a surgeon, my sister a nurse, my sister-in-law a nurse. Like, there is a definite place for it. But I also love Eastern medicine. And there is definitely a place for it. And so many blessings that come from that. But when you put the two together, that's when the best of both worlds come together. I agree. Right? Like my son just had this surgery. Well, he's not going to go home and I don't do any holistic care with him. You know what I mean? Yeah. But holistic care was not going to save his heart. Right. Imagine if we could require root cause health for doctors. Yeah. Integrated with all their other training. If that's where we started, imagine what that would do. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Well, OK, wait. Did I hear, though? Here's another question. Sorry, I said last question. No, I like it. Did I hear somewhere, though, that there might be a bill about doctors having to go learn nutrition in medical school in Utah? Yes. Yeah. That is one that Representative Christian Chevrier is working on requiring nutrition in medical schools for Utah. And I know that there is a shifter, a desire for this at the federal level as well. I'm not sure exactly what that's looking like. But yeah, that is definitely something that is being worked on. which I think would be amazing. It could be game-changing. Like I said, my dad was a surgeon. Yeah. He flat out would tell me, like, we didn't learn that stuff. We learned the basics about gluten-causing celiacs and, you know, things like that, but not how powerful food can be. Exactly. Yeah. And I think it would be amazing. Well, that's another amazing bill that I hope gets passed. Yes. So many good bills. Okay, so for those listening, if they want to go email or text their representative about one of these bills or want to come speak at one of the committees, where do they go to find more info, I should say? Yeah, so go to your state website. And for Utah, it's le.utah.gov. And obviously your listeners are in a lot more places than Utah. But you can go find your state website. And just Google that, right? Whatever state you're in, website. And it will come up with a whole legislative site. And it will have calendars that show when each committee is and the times and the location. And it will also show you how to give public comment And even if you want to just do that online, you will have your legislators' contact info listed. They should have a phone number, an email address. You know, there are so many ways that you can connect with them. Go find them on social media. That's actually, usually most of them will have some kind of Instagram or Twitter. That's a great way to interact with them as well. You know, for anyone local, I am happy to get you connected. I would love my dream to have a bunch of people up on the hill that I can take you to meet your legislators. You can set up a meeting in person with them. They will absolutely meet with you and speak with you. They want to hear from you. Some of the best ideas for policy come from citizens. And let's say we should tell them that Utah is in session right now. Right now. Meaning like this is the time to let them hear your voice. It's not come April, May, June. We're out of session. But are all states in session right now or it varies? It totally varies. And Utah has one of the shortest sessions in the nation, which is, whew, it's a lot. It gets really crazy. How short is ours? 45 days. So 45 days to pass all the bills, all the laws for Utah. Yeah. And some of them just run out of time. And that's why they don't pass. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. OK. So if you're listening, go to your state website, find out when they're in session, because that's the time you want to be most vocal. Yeah. Some states actually only do every other year even, too. Wow. Yeah. It's kind of crazy. Wow. That is crazy. They can have a much longer session when they're in session, though. OK. So good to know. I will say, too, there's also outside of session, your legislators are still working. So go talk to them. Go talk to them about the things you care about and how you would want them to vote. Or if you saw them vote on something and you didn't agree with it, go talk to them about why they voted that way and try to understand and have a conversation. I love that as well. Well, thank you so much for being here. Thank you. You have inspired me to want to get back into like helping with bills and helping to get things passed. And one of these days I want to go to the representatives with my own bill. Yes. Of things to get passed. Okay, I will lobby it for you. So thank you so much for being here. Before we end, I always ask my guests five fire rapid questions is what we call them. Okay. And so first one, what emerging health topic excites you most? I think I have to kind of repeat what I said earlier. And just I'm just so excited about the spotlight and the national stage that health has that it's less woo woo and more acceptable and people are caring about it and people are voicing opinions about it and getting engaged. And I'm just so excited that health is actually, you know, getting addressed at the top levels. Number two, what is a piece of advice you give to your younger self? Oh, so many things. Right? This is hard. You know, so many things I could say. I think one of the big things would be don't give in to limiting beliefs and fear and don't make decisions based on other people's opinions for you. I love that one. No one has said that yet. And I agree. I feel like fear stopped me from doing so many things. The world is your oyster when you're young. Right. And I hope that people can recognize that. Yeah. What's that fear and self-doubt? Exactly. That we talked about at the beginning. Yeah. Okay. What's the one health practice you'll never compromise on no matter how busy life gets? I think simple ingredient from scratch food. No ultra processed foods. I just really value, yeah, real. it doesn't always have to be homemade necessarily but real simple ingredient food and always that is probably hard being a lobbyist and cooking things from scratch at home yeah but I get really good with my snacks right I'm careful about what comes up with me and you know if I go to a restaurant I I'm particular about what restaurant I choose right yeah and saying don't compromise what's your favorite just ingredients product and why oh man okay I have to say a his and hers. So the PMS support I use and then testosterone support that my husband uses, those have just been absolute game changers for us. Oh, that's good to know. Yeah. That's awesome. And last question, what is the best ingredient you've found to life? I think I would have to say connection. Connection the way humans were really designed to have it. So genuine in-person connection with others, connection to nature and what it provides, and then spiritual connection to the divine for sure. You know what is so interesting is lately I've had so many people say connection. Yeah. It must just be something that all of us are needing in life. Nothing can replace it. And I think so many things are trying to right now. Yeah, that is true. Yeah. Well, again, thank you so much for taking time to be here. I know you're super busy on the hill right now. So thank you for taking time to be here. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. thank you for being here and being part of this community don't forget to subscribe to the just ingredients podcast we've got so much more to share with you and if you're not already come join us daily on all social media platforms at just.ingredients until next time keep choosing what nourishes you