Image Explainer Nature Knows Best? Naturalness in the Ultra-Processed Foods Debate The idea that more natural food – food which hasn’t been transformed by human and industrial intervention – is best for us is a powerful one. Psychologists have found a strong preference for that which is “natural”, even when people differ in what they understand that term to mean. But naturalness is a muddle – we are often signalled by advertising to see heavily manufactured foods as “natural”; the pioneers of cereal manufacturing were the greatest advocates of “natural” food in the early 20th century; and it’s rare that crops, which have been manipulated by human breeding over millennia, are seen as “unnatural”.If naturalness is a slippery idea, though, it is still undeniably compelling. At the moment, nowhere is the preference for naturalness when it comes to the food we eat more prevalent than in concerns expressed over ultra-processed foods (UPFs). But does the idea that naturalness is inherently best set up a misleading dichotomy between nature and technology that doesn’t serve the interests of a more sustainable and equitable food future? Does a narrow focus on processing itself misplace bigger questions of power and agency on the one hand, and unhelpfully dismiss scientific techniques on the other? We explore these questions in our latest explainer, Nature Knows Best? Naturalness in the Ultra-Processed Foods Debate.https://www.doi.org/10.56661/f76228c7 Read
Image Letterbox Series 5: Is the Ultra-processed Food (UPF) concept useful, and for what goals? It is hard to open a newspaper or lifestyle magazine now without finding the concept of ‘ultra-processed food’ somewhere mentioned. Based on the idea that not only a product’s content but the processes involved in its manufacture determine its health value, UPF has captured public attention. How useful is the classification, and what can its use achieve? In this TABLE Letterbox Exchange, Rob Percival, Anthony Warner and Mike Rayner were asked to consider in their debate i) the multiple understandings of the UPF concept, ii) the context and conditions of its successful or unsuccessful use, and iii) the relative goals and outcomes of i) and ii). The Letterbox will feature a total of nine letters. Read more about the origins and terms of the concept in TABLE’s UPF Explainer. Read
Image Letterbox Series 4: Vegan or flexitarian - which diet is healthier? In the quest for sustainable healthy diets, it is common to hear recommendations to reduce the amount of animal-sourced foods consumed in high-income countries. But what level of reduction is optimal for human health? For the best nutritional and health outcomes, should we be eating low-meat “flexitarian” diets, or entirely plant-based diets? In this Letterbox exchange, nutrition researcher Flaminia Ortenzi and physician Dr Tushar Mehta share their perspectives on the relative health and nutritional impacts of purely vegan diets compared to those that contain low levels of animal-sourced foods. Flaminia focuses on the nutrient density of different foods, while Tushar discusses data on the health outcomes of different diets. Read
Image Explainer TABLE Summary Series: Ultra-Processed Foods This is a brief summary of the longer TABLE Explainer “What is ultra-processed food? And why do people disagree about its utility as a concept?” It aims to illuminate key debates surrounding ultra-processed foods. Written by Trish Fisher. Read
Image Explainer What is ultra-processed food? And why do people disagree about its utility as a concept? The increasing consumption of industrially processed convenience foods, soft drinks, and fast foods has been associated with a rise in non-communicable diseases, overweight and obesity. This building block explores the concept of ultra-processed food: how it has been defined, and differing views as to whether it is a useful way of thinking about food and its relation to health and wider sustainability concerns. Last update: 2 July, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/ca3e86f2 Read
Image Explainer What is food loss and food waste? Around one third of the weight of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, and around a third of crop calories are lost to the food system during livestock production. Meanwhile, the global food system causes significant environmental impacts and around 800 million people are undernourished. This building block examines the following aspects of food loss and waste: mainstream definitions and alternative understandings, global statistics, and ‘hierarchies’ for prevention and treatment. Last update: 25 March, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/f98ed9f6 Read
