15-year-old Sarah Kavanagh from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has recently made the fortunate mistake of googling one of the ingredients listed as being part and parcel of the Gatorade she was drinking. The disgusting ingredient which is now causing quite a media stir is scientifically referred to as “brominated vegetable oil,” and what sparked Sarah's outrage is the fact that this particular chemical compound is listed as a flame retardant.
“The other day, I googled 'brominated vegetable oil.' It was the last time I drank Orange Gatorade. I found out that this 'BVO' is a controversial flame retardant chemical that is in some Gatorade drinks!” Sarah Kavanagh wrote in her petition.
“Who wants to drink that? Not me!” the girl went on to add.
After further investigating this chemical compound, Sarah found that, according to several studies, it tends to build up in the bodies of those who ingest it. Moreover, a mother can pass it on to her child simply by breastfeeding it.
Apparently, some of its side effects are an early onset of puberty, impaired neurological functions and a decrease in fertility.
“I’m not a scientist, but if there are lots of suspicious things about putting a flame retardant chemical in Gatorade (most flavors don’t even use it!) then why would Gatorade want to put it in a product designed for people like me who are into sports and health?” Sarah asks.
Sarah now hopes that the petition she started on
Change.org will not fail to draw the public's attention, and that this will eventually translate into the people behind Gatorade being forced to quit using this chemical compound when making said sports drink.
“You put slick ads on TV encouraging people like me to buy your products, but it’s shocking that you have a flame retardant chemical called ‘brominated vegetable oil’ in some flavors. Please stop deceiving consumers and remove this chemical from your products,” the petition reads.
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