Ultra Processed: How Food Tech Consumed the American Diet | CBS Reports

[SamA-houj]

This video should go viral: 10, 000 chemicals in our foods compared to 400 in Europe?!
This is a crime against Americans

[moonriseklingon]

Thank you for highlighting this issue, corporate greed has suffocated the American spirit for too long we need healthy and nutritious foods to sustain us in these dark times. The government needs to step up and force antitrust laws.

[SuitedPup]

I genuinely believe this is the single most important issue faced by America today, bar none. There is nothing more crucial, individually and collectively, than a person's health - both mental and physical. The food we ingest into our bodies is the primary driver of our health or lack thereof. Think about it: we're literally taking physical matter and putting it inside ourselves. Getting this right is absolutely critical.

Why is this THE most important issue? Consider these points:

1. The astronomical costs of chronic diseases linked to poor diet are crippling our healthcare system and economy. We spend far more on chronic disease treatment/management than we do on war.
2. Our quality of life and longevity are directly tied to what we eat. Health is intrinsically important. Without good health, nothing else matters.
3. Mental health, cognitive function, and even societal behavior are influenced by nutrition. Productivity, criminality, living harmoniously with others: all these things are influenced by our mental health, which we are more and more finding is tied to what food we eat.
4. A healthy population is more productive, creative, and capable of tackling other pressing issues.

At a personal level, we should all strive to make the best dietary choices possible. But this isn't just about individual responsibility. As a society, we cannot stand idly by while corporate greed and corruption continue to profit from our sickness, addiction, and ignorance. We need to take action:

1. Ban all marketing of ultra-processed food products directed at children. Full stop. I’d go further with banning commercials on tv - like cigarettes - but that’s not gonna happen anytime soon.
2. Implement stark warning labels on ultra-processed foods, similar to cigarette packs, stating they're known to lead to adverse health outcomes and can potentially be addictive.
3. Launch massive public education campaigns about the dangers of ultra-processed foods and the benefits of whole foods.
4. Incentivize the production and accessibility of healthier food options, and disincentivize the production of junk food by implementing stricter regulations, more aligned with other developed countries.

The food we eat shapes every aspect of our lives and our nation's future. It's time we treat this issue with the urgency it deserves and take bold steps to reclaim our health from the jaws of the ultra-processed food industry.

Denormalize the ubiquity of ultraprocessed foods in our life and culture. We need to shift our cultural attitude towards ultra-processed foods. Just as saying "I could go for a cigarette" now often elicits concern rather than encouragement, we should react similarly to casual mentions of fast food cravings. Instead of laughing or agreeing when someone says "I could go for some Taco Bell, " we should recognize this as a potentially harmful impulse.

[gm]

I'm going on 4 years clean and sober and I'm more proud of eating clean than my sobriety. Then again I couldn't sober up till I got the nutrition down.😃Life is good.

[justjane]

“Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?”
Chris van Tulleken

[dwoolf]

The FDA guy is a true politician. He answered the question without answering the question😅

[aramesh]

This is why I shop on the outside aisles in the supermarket--fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, and poultry. It's the inner aisles where are the unhealthy food is. Start cooking with fresh ingredients, instead of eating processed food.

[dwoolf]

A grocery store that has a health food section should make you wonder about the rest of the store.

[lain]

Poor Tiara and her family. My thoughts are with her and her family 😔💔

[ArchThaBoss]

“The FDA says it’s committed to overseeing the safety of the food supply”
Red dye 40 would like to disagree.

[cathyf]

Thank you for doing this reporting! We need more reporting on health related topics and the dangers of ultra processed foods. It's a big problem in the US. What we eat is the most important decision we make everyday.

[gettingstuffdoneright]

Take care Tiara, I'm so sorry for your loss, but stay strong, stay healthy. rest in peace Crystal 🙏

[JWREnvironment]

Hats off to Adam Yamaguchi for presenting these critical issues so we can all understand the problems we can face when we consume too many ultra processed foods. I have moved to as much whole food plant based eating as possible, and my cholesterol levels improved a lot. Thank you, Bernie Sanders for working to keep children more healthful by incentivizing healthful food production! Maybe the SNAP program can be improved so that food stamps benefits are higher if they are spent on healthful foods like fresh vegetables and fruits and whole grains! 😊

[chrisbaker]

Big tobacco companies have bought many ultra processed food companies.

[gm]

I'm going on 5 years whole foods I weigh 110 lbs. Food is medicine💪 If you can't stop eating processed foods. Try wearing a catcher's mask⚾ The only dope I'm on is flavored coffee creamers and sugar Exercise when you want too and especially when you "Don't" Movement is medicine too. I fell off the wagon 2 months ago and drank a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi😵‍💫I'm all good today I shook it off and I'm back on track.

[er.intheusa]

This needs to be a daily news covered topic. This has been the norm for years. You try to eat healthy, and it is more expensive. You look at the choices up and down the isles, and it all comes from the same 4 companies that make them. And now you have places like Kroger merging with Albertsons, and the same companies controlling the food, being in charge of making it horrible for your health, getting you addicted to it, and then raise the products not effected by supply chain issues just to make record profits.

[edschulhof]

Ironically, most processed food is more expensive, per pound, than fresh, homemade food.

[WoodenBoatGuy]

Sadly, the U.S. economy actually thrives on suffering, both physical and mental. Type 2 diabetes alone is responsible for a disturbing amount of our GDP. Between poor health (crap in, healthcare expenses out) and social media making everyone feel angry and/or inadequate the current foundations of our precious economy are just plain disturbing.

[styrpak]

It's not about individual choice, it's about corporate greed.

[cindyjames]

This kind of reporting on CBS is deeply needed! If you’ve found this, keep seeking out more information on what has happened and seek out those that are leading the effort to bring our children, our country and our world back to vibrant health. The latest RFK Jr. podcast on this subject with Calley Means is incredibly illuminating. I highly recommend it. 💥🙏