Jerry Mande has worked on major health initiatives with some major players in Washington, D.C. But all this work began at UConn when Mande was an undergraduate student studying nutritional sciences. In 1976, the FDA banned products that used amaranth, the basis for Red Dye No. 2. This ban was because of the link between this dye in foods like red M&Ms to an increased cancer risk. Currently 42% of the U.S. population is obese, more than tripling since the