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The modern consumer is continuously bombarded with warnings about Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs), with studies linking them to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. In response, a booming "clean label" marketing movement promises safety through short, recognisable ingredient lists.
But this binary view—where nature is good and processing is evil—ignores economic reality, food science, and geographical necessity. Food isn’t unhealthy because it is processed; it becomes unhealthy when its nutrient balance is poor and we consume too much of it. As Jan Dutkiewicz and Gabriel N Rosenberg argue in their book, Feed the People!: Why Industrial Food Is Good and How to Make It Even Better, processing is not the enemy. It is simply a tool. The real issue is how the industry deploys it.