The article claims that rosemary extract is Bad because it substitutes for BHA/BHT, a preservative. At this point I stopped reading due to an overwhelming urge to bang my head into the table. Preservation is in fact a major reason for seasoning-- in a preserved meat, no less! (And BHA/BHT are antioxidants-- which makes them Good...)
Similarly, it's not surprising that yeast extract (nutritional yeast Good) contains the Bad MSG. Glutamate is a fundamental building block of life. If you've ever tasted yeast extract, you will immediately notice that it's very salty. The only reason to eat it is as a flavor enhancer, because as a major constituent it's too salty-- except for various Commonwealth countries that like to put it on toast.
Etc...
Shit, I bet the egg yolks in my cake batter are Bad because they substitute for cholesterol, an emulsifier and flavor enhancer which is linked to diseases (it also tastes nasty on its own)
Crappy food optimized for convenience, scale and profit is a huge problem. I hate-- the actual, painful, comsuming hate-- convenience foods and I double hate franchise restaurants etc. because they reduce the amount of "real," freshly prepared, flavorful food immediately available to me. But that doesn't obviate the need for critical thinking.
Finally, as a practicing biochemist and excellent cooker/eater I'm Offended by the insinuation that one cannot be equally comfortable in a kitchen or in a lab.
Derek Lowe's several article[0]s should be boilerplate at the end of any chemicals vs food piece.
[0] http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2014/04/30/is_that_food...
Edit: after skimming the remainder of the article, it becomes clear that its author has never cooked anything