Is this the Greta Thunberg of food? Texas 18 year-old goes viral for fights with fast food giants over links with cancer - says eating a pack of fries is just as deadly as 25 cigarettes

In 2018, the world watched in fascination as a 15 year-old Swedish schoolgirl held a major climate change protest outside her country's parliament.

The young woman, Greta Thunberg, would go on to tell her passionate environmental views all over the world, including at the European Parliament and the UN climate action summit in New York.

In 2019, she became Time magazine's youngest-ever person of the year, and was named one of Forbes' 100 most powerful women in the world, aged just 16.

Now, there's another young, fearless campaigner who appears to be following in Thunberg's footsteps. Only, this student, from Austin, Texas, is not concerned with our climate, but our food supply.

Grace Price, 18, is on a mission to get food companies to cook foods more safely and remove dangerous additives from their products. The Texas-based teenager made a documentary on the risks of these additives, which has already gained more than 4.6million views

Grace Price, 18, is becoming increasingly popular on social media for her impassioned statements about America's 'cancer-causing' food supply.

The budding investigative journalist has already attracted more than 40,000 followers on X for her campaign projects, including a documentary titled, Cancer: A Food-Borne Illness, and petitions to stop fries being cooked in vegetable oil.

She is already having an impact, wracking up 4.6million views on her film and hearing from many experts and youngsters her age applauding her efforts.

The teenager claims that junk food is the 'cigarettes of our generation', and steers well clear of most foods that people her age enjoy daily, including french fries, candy and Diet Coke.

Greta Thunberg shot to fame globally for her campaign to protect the environment (Pictured above attending Westminster Magistrates in London for a haring after being charged with a public disorder offence for a protest). Could Grace be the Greta Thunberg of food additives?

'I want to make it widely known that ultra-processed foods, excessive consumption of sugar and pesticides are the new cancer causes for my generation,' Grace told DailyMail.com.

'The truth of all this needs to be surfaced,' she added. 'I am trying, but I am just a teenager.'

While it is thought that the majority of cancers — some 60 percent — are caused by genetic mutations, the remainder are rooted in lifestyle factors, like smoking, drinking too much alcohol and poor diets.

Lifestyle factors, including consumption of ultra-processed food, are thought to be behind the spike in early-onset cancers in the US, particularly colorectal.

Studies show that cases of colon cancer in the under 50s have doubled over the past 20 years.  Other cancers including lung and breast are also on the rise among young adults.

Ms Price is pictured above at the operational headquarters of McDonalds in San Antonio, where she asked them to stop cooking french fries in vegetable oil. As part of her campaigning, she also visited Whataburger and says she plans to visit Coca-Cola HQ

She first became concerned about food additives after her grandpa Hank, who was not obese and exercised daily, was diagnosed with cancer and died at the age of 89. Scientists say about 40 percent of cancers are linked to lifestyle factors, such as diet

Grace uses her social media platform to vocalize her list of demands aimed at major food manufacturers.

They include asking McDonalds to stop cooking its french fries in reheated vegetable oils such as corn and soybean oil.

Studies show that when reheated, these oils can form cancer-causing substances like acrylamide and aldehydes.

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She is also planning to turn up on the doorstep of Coca-Cola's, to ask executives why their drinks contain so much sugar.

One can of coke contains a whopping 39grams of sugar, more than the 36g per day recommended for men and 25g for women.

Studies show that sugar itself is not carcinogenic — or cancer-causing — but that over-consumption raises the risk of obesity, linked to a higher risk of cancers.

About four to eight percent of cancer cases diagnosed every year are linked to obesity, studies suggest, with breast cancer and colon cancer most commonly linked.

Grace also wants to see California's 'skittles ban' — outlawing four additives found in many candies, baked goods and soft drinks — expanded nationwide.

The law, passed in October, will ban foods containing brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propyl paraben and Red Dye No. 3 from being sold in the state when it comes into force in January 2027.

Animal studies have already linked Red Dye No.3 and potassium bromate — used in foods including Peeps and cosmic brownies — to cancers of the thyroid and kidney.

Brominated vegetable oil, on the other hand, is suggested to harm the nervous system and propyl paraben has been linked to fertility issues and reduced sperm counts in mice.

All four have already been banned from products in Europe over health concerns.

The above graph shows the rise of colorectal cancer in young Americans from 1999 through 2020. There is a drop around 2020 because the Covid pandemic led to more people avoiding hospitals, leading to fewer diagnoses

The above foods are those that face being banned in California because of their 'skittles ban'. Peeps has already said it will update its recipe

Sun Drop, Mountain Lightning from Walmart, and drinks from regional grocery store Food Lion all contain brominated vegetable oil, which the FDA has suggested banning

At least four Democrat-led states — New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey — are already looking to follow suit.

She also voiced support for the ban proposed in California to outlaw five food colorings over similar health concerns.

The additives — Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1 and Blue 2 — have been linked to hyperactivity in children.

Three — Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 — can also be contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen.

The European Union already says any products containing Red 40 should carry a warning label — while some European countries have outlawed several of the other colorings.

In the US, they are found in everything from Gatorade to cake mixes and favorite treats including Swedish fish, Sour Patch and Nerds.

Grace first became interested in the link between food and cancer risk after losing her grandpa Hank to the disease.

Frank lived to an impressive 89 — a decade more than the average American man — however, Grace is convinced he could have lived longer, had his diet been healthier.

She believes that the stomach cancer that killed him was rooted in his daily menus of fried chicken and burgers.

'He grew up in South Texas without access to a lot of healthy foods,' Grace said. 

'He ate what was most abundant in that area, so a lot of Churches fried chicken and processed food, which we think ultimately led to his cancer diagnosis.'

Some studies have suggested that a diet high in preservatives found in processed red meat can increase the risk of stomach and colon cancers.

Ms Price says part of her mission is to flatten the surge in early-onset cancers in her generation. She says she has already had a strong response to her activism

She is pictured above at home researching the link between cancers and food additives. She is now planning to make an app to help youngsters find out the amount of sugar and additives in their meal

Grace has just completed her studies at Alpha School in Austin, a private school that educates students via Artificial Intelligence (AI).

She is now planning to study at the University of Austin, Texas, where she will study a STEM Education degree — or a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math degree.

As part of this, she plans to develop an app that will allow students to scan their meals or snacks and find out the amount of sugar and which additives they contain.

She also hopes to continue to build her presence on X and other platforms to warn others over the dangers from additives.

She said: 'I am not trying to be the next Greta Thunberg. I am not trying to get out here and yell about how terrible these companies are.

'But I am trying to encourage teenagers to analyze their meals and how many calories, how much sugar, is in each to help them make healthier decisions.'

Before researching cancer causes, Grace said she used to eat sugary foods every day and would enjoy a fast food meal once-a-month.

But now that she says she has connected the dots, she hasn't had a fast food meal since December last year.

At home, she avoids bread, fruit juices and even diet cokes — because of concerns over the sweetener aspartame in them.

Some studies have suggested that large amounts of the sweetener may raise the risk of damage to the kidneys and liver.

Grace hasn't yet managed to speak to someone at McDonalds. A call handler in operations puts her on hold whenever she calls.

At Whataburger, she said she was kicked out of their factory by security twice — with the carpark being surrounded by guards the second time.

'I would say my mission is to cut cancer cases in half for my generation,' she said.

'I recently interviewed some elderly people in a home about causes of cancer, and... when I talked to them, it was just devastating to hear how their lives had been completely wrecked by this disease.

'This information that I share could save a person's life. I want to continue to lobby for change.'