Fighting for Good Food

Food activist Vani Hari is hot on the trail of a chemical that’s used in yoga mats, shoes and sandwiches

Thanks to Vani Hari, 34, an IndianAmerican blogger who runs the website FoodBabe.com, millions of Americans found out recently that a chemical named azodicarbonamide, used in yoga mats and shoes, is an ingredient in fast food chain Subway’s breads. After an online petition signed by thousands of FoodBabe followers, the global chain said that it would soon phase out the chemical from its breads. A former management consultant, Hari started FoodBabe.com in April 2011. Even though she hasn’t turned her attention to India, she has been heard loud and clear in the country. Subway put up a notice on its Indian website declaring, “Azodicarbonamide is not present in any bread sold in India Subway.”