Why do we have chemicals in our food?

More than half of the calories consumed in an average household in the U.S. or U.K. comes from ultra-processed foods. Consumption is already high in the developed world and rapidly increasing in developing countries.

However, recent scientific studies have linked eating UPF with serious health issues like diabetes, obesity, and even cancer. Although current studies cannot prove causation, experts believe reducing UPF in a diet is essential for overall well-being.

"Eating this stuff regularly, every single day, every meal, accumulating all these chemicals in our body, they make us overeat by 25%," said Tim Spector, a professor of epidemiology at King's College London and the co-founder of ZOE – a personalized nutrition app.

"Most of the ultra-processed food that you find are higher in salt, fat and sugar. They are designed extremely tasty, they're ready to eat and they are aggressively marketed, especially to children", Dr Kiara Chang of Imperial College London noted.

In the U.K., where 1 in 4 people are obese, there are growing calls for the food industry and the government to act and offer healthier options to the population. The $128 billion British food and beverage industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the country, employing more than 400,000 people.

"We are calling for food sector companies to report a set of health and sustainability metrics that would be on a mandatory basis," said Sophie Lawrence, who leads a group of investors called the Investor Coalition for Food Policy, managing assets worth $7 trillion.

"We need to make sure that the government and businesses are acting to actually change the food environment people are living in," said Rebecca Tobi, senior business and investment manager at the Food Foundation.

So, could ultra-processed food be taken off the menu? Watch the video to find out.

#CNBC #UltraProcessedFood #Health

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[yaynetwork]

THIS one sentence about says it all: Europe bans over 1300 chemicals from food including hormone altering pesticides, while the US bans only 9.

[marshalou]

frozen vegies, can beans, frozen fruit, oats are way cheaper than processed food. people need to learn to cook simple nutritious foods.

[tbarbuto]

Pay the farmer now or the doctor later

[AdwoaHema]

I worked in food manufacturing and companies that buy the product would always ask us to find a way for our products to last longer. We flash freeze the food and had it last a year if kept frozen. They would ask us to find a way to make it be 24 months or longer which means more chemicals.

[Oscar-luot]

Convenience is a killer. You need to prepare your own meals from raw ingredients to be sure as to what goes into your body. Stay safe peeps

[nelsonv]

12 years ago, I stopped eating all ultra processed foods and anything from animals and permanently lost 120 pounds, so far. 71 years old and never felt better!

[TCSGaming-qjsw]

This should be a no-brainer. Probably the number one thing we could do is ban the harmful additives in these foods.

[Hyperion]

The issue is not only with ultra processed food but also with packaging containing PAS/PFOAS, BFA, etc

[godbillion_nathan]

Well healthy food in my countries Eswatini and DR Congo is actually very cheap. chicken, beef, corn, vegetables and pork are 35% cheaper than processed foods such as cheese, butter. Fast food like KFC is even way more expensive. I always thought we were backward yet we live a much healthier life.

[Striker_]

Problem is: *Companies want you addicted*
That ensures you're a returning customer...

[ItsNeverTooHotLeather]

Ultra-processed products are so cheap because they AREN'T ACTUALLY FOOD!!!

[Alicealice]

Finally... Thanks CNBC for bringing this topic to light

[SKYSTAR]

England is the sister country to the USA when it comes to the high rate of cancer, diabetes and obesity following in third place is Australia.

[vitoanania]

YES. don't eat processed foods, don't eat sugar. my father healed from diabetes type 2 in around 1 year. how?? intermittent fasting and low-carb.

[gm]

I had to freeze the screen to see how innocent and caring the mother bird is with her babies mouths open all natural at 7:16 Wow a Nestles logo advertisement I've never seen before. Look how peaceful they look. While people are dropping dead like fly's

[paulhayes]

Porridge oats/oatmeal made with half water and half milk. Add some milled linseed. Microwave for under three minutes. Pasta sauce made from pasata with veg (onions, courgette, pepper) 20 minutes. Lunch of a soup made from seasonal root veg and a stock cube. Takes about 30 minutes and makes over four portions. (A bag of carrots and parsnips cost about 50p). These are healthy, quick and cheap. You may not like them very much (my partner much prefers cocoa pops and fried chicken) but that isn't the point - eating healthy can be cheap.

[UQRXD]

Having worked in food processing. I can say the main reason for preservatives is. The machinery has so many places that are impossible to clean and the gunk that builds up they are added to kill bacteria.
I have seen stuff taken apart that the smell would make you throw up. Cold cuts are the worst.

[ramochai]

05:18 Aha! Nobody should have to work multiple shifts, PERIOD. If we have 8 hours to work, 8 hours to sleep and 8 hours to ourselves, then we're more likely to make smart decisions on eating. But then the owner class on top would make less profits in that case, wouldn't they?

[PhillCurtis]

I travelled across italy this year. The quality of food was soo much better. Fresh is best.

We can learn a lot in the UK. People are so reliant on cheap processed crap, which sadly has less flavour.

[jasonc]

Most U.S. foods are banned in other countries, I wonder why 🤔