Bethenny Frankel Defends Preservatives in SkinnyGirl, Baby’s Vegetarianism

It’s sure to raise an eyebrow or two when a woman who launched a product line called SkinnyGirl announces that she’s raising her 15-month-old daughter vegetarian. The Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel is undoubtedly a very health-conscious person. But in this era of vegetarianism and veganism doubling as code for “eating disorder”, imposing strict diet rules on a baby seems extreme. Not that she seems too worried about what buyers of her products are consuming. Whole Foods reportedly dropped her line of SkinnyGirl low-cal margarita mixes after it was revealed that they contain the preservative sodium benzoate, a potential carcinogen.

Frankel told the Post that the products, which are advertised as being made with “all-natural ingredients” and “no preservatives,” are as natural as can be while still being “shelf-stable.”

“I’m not making wheatgrass here,” she said of the brand that she sold to Beam Global for $120 million, adding, “With all due respect to Whole Foods, we were in a dozen of their stores and have decided not to continue in these stores. They represent an infinitesimal fraction of our business.”

With regard to her vegetarian baby, Frankel says she is trying not to be fanatical. Per The Daily Mail, she writes on her blog that “obsession isn’t the point here. Doing the best we can is. Our babies are a beautiful clean slate, and I am so excited for how healthy she will be.” Even if she were fanatical, plenty of kids around the world grow up vegetarian — eating less or no meat is great for the planet and one’s health. But, somehow, vegetarian baby advice from the SkinnyGirl herself seems sinister. Real Housewives sinister.