The over-consumption of ultra-processed foods is having a detrimental effect on our health, on the climate and on biodiversity.
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UNCCD Library
On average in the UK, ultra-processed food makes up over 50% of our shopping baskets. Our 'Ultra-Processed Planet' report makes the case for shifting our diets away from ultra-processed foods and makes several recommendations. We would like the UK and devolved national governments to:
Harness the Food Systems Summit to enhance food system regulation and governance
Adopt a percentage reduction target for ultra-processed foods in the diet
Introduce dietary guidelines addressing ultra-processed foods
Introduce labelling to indicate when products are ultra-processed
Reconnect children with where their food comes from, and implement practical food education
Support a transition to agroecology and organic farming
Read in more detail the issues associated with ultra-processed foods in our 'Ultra-Processed Planet' report, including more detail on the recommendations for Government.
On Tuesday 28th September the Soil Association hosted a panel of experts in an online webinar discussing the recent UN Food Systems Summit, the urgency of action on ultra-processed foods and the threat of 'corporate capture'. We will post a recording of the webinar here as soon as it is ready.
What are ultra-processed foods?
Most foods are processed before we eat them. They may be chopped, cooked, fermented, frozen, or tinned, for example. What characterises ultra-processed foods is the degree to which they have been altered. They have been described by food writer Bee Wilson as “concoctions of concoctions, engineered from ingredients that are already highly refined, such as cheap vegetable oils, flours, whey proteins and sugars, which are then whipped up into something more appetising with the help of industrial additives such as emulsifiers.”
Foods that fall into the 'ultra-processed' category typically contain little or no whole foods, are ready-to-consume or heat, and are made using industrial additives and processes. They often bear little resemblance to the real foods found in nature. They are often high in fat, salt and added sugar, and depleted in dietary fibre. Our report goes into more detail about how ultra-processed foods can be identified.
READ further from the source
Harness the Food Systems Summit to enhance food system regulation and governance
Adopt a percentage reduction target for ultra-processed foods in the diet
Introduce dietary guidelines addressing ultra-processed foods
Introduce labelling to indicate when products are ultra-processed
Reconnect children with where their food comes from, and implement practical food education
Support a transition to agroecology and organic farming
Read in more detail the issues associated with ultra-processed foods in our 'Ultra-Processed Planet' report, including more detail on the recommendations for Government.
On Tuesday 28th September the Soil Association hosted a panel of experts in an online webinar discussing the recent UN Food Systems Summit, the urgency of action on ultra-processed foods and the threat of 'corporate capture'. We will post a recording of the webinar here as soon as it is ready.
What are ultra-processed foods?
Most foods are processed before we eat them. They may be chopped, cooked, fermented, frozen, or tinned, for example. What characterises ultra-processed foods is the degree to which they have been altered. They have been described by food writer Bee Wilson as “concoctions of concoctions, engineered from ingredients that are already highly refined, such as cheap vegetable oils, flours, whey proteins and sugars, which are then whipped up into something more appetising with the help of industrial additives such as emulsifiers.”
Foods that fall into the 'ultra-processed' category typically contain little or no whole foods, are ready-to-consume or heat, and are made using industrial additives and processes. They often bear little resemblance to the real foods found in nature. They are often high in fat, salt and added sugar, and depleted in dietary fibre. Our report goes into more detail about how ultra-processed foods can be identified.
READ further from the source
Keywords
food production
food systems
sustainability
health and diet
human health impacts
consumption
agroecology