Star File: Sarah Kavanagh
Age: 17
Star Factor: Activist; She got a beverage giant to stop using a harmful substance
Lives In: Hattiestburg, Mississippi
Sarah Kavanagh loved Gatorade
Orange, but her feelings about the delicious drink changed once she discovered that it contained brominated vegetable oil, also known as BVO.
It pays to read the label.
BVO is patented as a flame retardant and has been banned in Japan and Europe.
Crazy, right?
Instead of just dumping the drink in the trash or complaining about Pepsico, the company that makes Gatorade Orange, Sarah started a petition on Change.org to convince the company to stop using this harmful substance, which according to news sources has been linked to hormone and fertility issues.
That’s no bueno.
At the time Sarah was only 15 years old, but she got a ton of support and signatures—more than 200,000 signed the petition.
After 18 months, Pepsico took the hint and stopped using BVO.
Sarah also went after Powerade, owned by Coca Cola, because its Fruit Punch flavor contained BVO.
After another petition and media attention Powerade pledged to remove BVO too.
