Info on yellow #5 and other artificial colorings/flavorings here. Remember, these are all petroleum byproducts, or "coal tars" as they used to be called in the old days. Even in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries they knew these caused cancer and other illnesses. Yellow #5, etc. are also heavily implicated in behavioral disorders.

I'm not a health freak. Well, maybe I am a little. But the basic principle here seems to be similar to "don't drink motor oil."

http://hilarym.masterone.com/yellow5.html

Probably many othr more detailed sites too if you have time and inclination to look.

Annie's isn't going to ruin anyone's children or give them autism. If people feed their kids this stuff occaisionally so what? On the other hand homemade mac and cheese is delicious and easy (thanks for pointing this out AMdeS). It takes about 5 minutes for the sauce and 15-20 minutes for the noodles. I make it at least once a week, and yes I have kids, I am a dad and I am busy. My son will eat anything with the cheese sauce on it which is handy for delivering broccolli into his digestive system. So why do these forums always have to degenerate into mudslinging?

I could make some kind of gross complaint about people not cooking anymore and being lazy bastards, but I like cooking and can't imagine not cooking most of my food from scratch so it wouldn't really be fare of me to make that judgement. Some people absolutely hate cooking. I'll leave them to that. Of course being obese and having type II diabetes isn't so much fun either (sorry, couldn't resist the dig). If anyone read Michael Pollan's article in the NYTM over the weekend I think the biggest thing to take away from that was that cooking your food from scratch (organic or not) is the best thing you could do for your health (although he strangely only seems to use the word "cook" once in the article.) But as I said serving the occaisional box of Annie's (or Kraft) or opening a can of soup or chili is not going to kill anyone and could be quite enjoyable on many levels.

Maybe what it comes down to is overworrying about being parents. This is what's ruthlessly being exploited by Annie's and hundreds of other brands. So if that bothers you then cooking is a form of resistance. Otherwise boil macaroni, add sauce packet and enjoy!

A few letter writers who are parents have written that they serve their kids Annie's mac and cheese because they are too busy to cook.

My question is, why have kids if you cannot take the time to feed them decently?

Clearly, the mentality and maturity of Salon's target demographic is not us.

It seems to fall somewhere between "Highlights" and "Cosmopolitan."

Thanks for the autism reality check--I was just about to call for a hysterical RFK jr. article on Salon about the dangers of mac and cheese and autism...

I'm hoping a masters in developmental psychology teaches something other than hysterics...

Annie's mac'n'cheese, but I like whole wheat pasta, and you can buy cheese already shredded these days, and in better flavors than that orange cheese. Also, if you buy a big box of macaroni shells at Trader Joe's, it's cheaper and lasts longer than buying it individually. You can vary this recipe slightly by mixing the shells with tomato sauce and baking it with shredded mozzarella. Jake made me laugh saying that homemade macaroni and cheese would result in a gloppy mess no one would eat. I do believe some people are incapable of planning ahead and learning to make stuff instead of having someone do it all for you. There are so many cheap and easy ways to make casseroles that take about half hour max, that are hot and that kids love, and that you don't have to learn from the Food Network or buy in a box.

As a biological scientist who sometimes peruses the aisles of our local alternative grocery stores, including Whole Foods, I'm astounded by how often their food packages use words such as "natural" to imply that they are better for you or more healthy, but the evidence to actually show this is just not there. It falls to the consumer to try to find out the truth. Unfortunately, among the resources that one could turn to in order to find out these things, I have seen at least one "organic" publication that appears to be heavily supported by ads for these same products, begging the question of their objectivity. This is not unlike most bridal magazines, which are mostly ads for products, with a few articles that often suggest using these same ideas and products. Just like the author of this article implies, it is risky to rely on marketing, or the presence of foods at alternative groceries, to tell you which products are better for you.

A few letter writers who are parents have written that they serve their kids Annie's mac and cheese because they are too busy to cook.

My question is, why have kids if you cannot take the time to feed them decently?

Wait wait, let me put on my tinfoil cap with the coat-hanger antenna so I can predict the future and see whether or not I'm going to have to work late or take care of my parents or have other scheduling issues that will prevent me from being home to cook a full nutritious meal for any children I may have at any time, ever, in the next oh say 15 to 20 years...

Oh shoot, I'm going to have to pick my mom up at the airport on May 29th, 2016 at 8:30pm and won't have time to feed any chislers that might exist anything more involved than frozen chicken fingers (Bell & Evans, of course) and whole wheat Annies. Guess I won't be having kids...

Hilarious. Not bothering to read most of the letters (98 already), this apparently strikes a nerve. Any parent with a brain already knows this however. Both taste good to me, and i'm 38. Yea, annie's stinks like real cheese, fine by me. But hey, its mac 'n' cheese, not tiramisu. Which one you buy comes down to which one is on the shelf at the store, that's it.

Rudimentary food paste - hooray!