The New Mr. Popcorn

Why are butter popcorn products still on the market?

In 2001, Bronchilolitis Obliterans, a "rare and life threatening form of fixed obstructive lung disease" (Washington Post), was linked to popcorn factories and dubbed "Popcorn Lung". Hundreds of popcorn factory workers were sick from breathing in the chemical diacetyl, an ingredient in artificial butter.

I've eaten the stuff: the "butter" in buttered popcorn tastes more like axle grease than butter. My gut told me this stuff is bad for you, and not just from a nutritional standpoint.

The New York Times says:

Exposure to synthetic butter in food production and flavoring plants has been linked to hundreds of cases of workers whose lungs have been damaged or destroyed. Diacetyl is found naturally in milk, cheese, butter and other products.

Heated diacetyl becomes a vapor and, when inhaled over a long period of time, seems to lead the small airways in the lungs to become swollen and scarred. Sufferers can breathe in deeply, but they have difficulty exhaling. The severe form of the disease is called bronchiolitis obliterans or “popcorn workers’ lung,” which can be fatal.

Now a popcorn eater has the lung disease.

Wayne Watson is not just any consumer, he ate two bags a day for ten years. He admits he loved breathing in the burst of steam from a just-opened bag.

The media is treating the story like a human interest story. If only the public would get outraged, the media would elevate the story. But how can we be outraged when we are focused on the lead paint toys from China? So the flavor factories in California are racing the regulators. They are ventilating the factories and instituting employee health screenings.

But let's help them out; let's stop eating the stuff.