Ultra-processed food: A threat to

society?
Ultra-processed food looks and tastes amazing. It makes you want more. Its ingredients are cheap for
companies to make. The price will not stop you from buying and the reason for that is because it’s so
affordable for everyone. Imagine being a kid growing up eating lots of ultra-processed food. As a kid,
you will love it because of its taste and its attractiveness, but you won’t know the negatives it
contains. As with everything good comes the bad. Ultra-processed food is put in packages, cans, or
bags and it is usually containing artificial colours, flavours, and other chemical ingredients. Ultra-
processed food may look attractive and be affordable for everyone; however, it is not real food. Ultra-
processed food is food that is produced in factories with industrial ingredients instead of real fruits,
vegetables, meats, and so on.1 Some instant noodles are not even noodles. They contain a very low
quality of nutrients, which is bad because they can’t cover our body's requirements. 2 They are fun to
eat once in a while, but it is not sustainable to eat them in the long run. Almost half of the food we eat
today is ultra-processed. The world must stop being manipulated and change its eating habits for the
better.

Speaking of real food, the first thing to remember is that ultra-processed food is by many, not
considered as real food but as “edible food-like substances”. 3 Ultra-processed food has not been
consumed by people for as long as real food. Real food does not need advertisements for someone to
buy it. It does not say it can lower your risk of heart disease or that 9 out of 10 doctors recommend it.
The real food is not in a package like ultra-processed food. It is simply just put out in the open. It does
not scream for you to buy it or show you it can make your life better, because you already know it is
good.4 It contains all the vitamins, minerals and fibres your body needs, unlike ultra-processed food,
which has a quantity of sugar, fat and way more calories, which may cause a greater risk of obesity
and high blood sugar levels, which end the end can give heart diseases and diabetes. As mentioned
before, ultra-processed food contains a very low quality of nutrients. Professor Carlos Monteiro from
the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil also mentions his deep concern about the links between ultra-
processed food with obesity and poor health. Ultra-processed food as the Froot Loops cereal contains
no fruit.5 The thing about ultra-processed food is its advertising. It is advertised in a way making it
look and sound better than real food, which is not true at all.

1 “ 'Ultra-processed' products now half of all UK family food purchases”, (l.33-38)

2 “Michael Pollan’s Seven Words”, (1:24-1:53)
3 “Michael Pollan’s Seven Words”, (2:13-2:25)
4 “ 'Ultra-processed' products now half of all UK family food purchases”, (l.18-23)
5 “ 'Ultra-processed' products now half of all UK family food purchases”, (l.7-13)
Adding further to the next argument is the problem with big food brands. Their advertising for their
ultra-processed food is so brilliant, resulting in people being manipulated into buying their product.
Their trick is to make the target audience believe their ultra-processed food will make them better or
reach their best version of themselves. An example of this way of manipulating is the ad from
Kellogg’s: “Special K #poweringyou - everything we are made of powers everything you are made
of”. The ad keeps showing us women living their best lives, practising sport and being happy. 6 It also
keeps on giving us information on how it is made and what it is made with. It is incomparable to real
food, but clever marketing has led to this. This way of advertising has then led to a lot of countries
buying an exaggerated amount of ultra-processed food. As shown by the Public Health Nutrition, in
the UK 50.7% of products bought by families are ultra-processed. Other places have also followed the
direction, such as Germany with 46.2% and Ireland with 45.9%. 7

Despite all the negatives of ultra-processed food, people themselves decide what they eat. Ultra-
processed still tastes good to many people and it won’t stop tasting good with their brilliant
advertising. You can’t control what everyone is eating. It is a person's responsibility to have good
health. If eating edible food-like substances such as Froot Loops, Mr Kipling and Special K is their
go-to meal, no one should stop them. The human body will not get the nutrients needed, but the
person will get the satisfaction of eating what he or she likes. People are free to do what they want
even though they know the consequences of not getting the nutrients they need.

To sum up, what has been stated so far, ultra-processed food may look attractive, and taste good, but
it has lots of negatives. There is not enough balance between the positives and negatives about ultra-
processed food. To begin with, ultra-processed food is not real food. It does not contain the nutrients
as real food does. Ultra-processed food is, as introduced earlier, food that is produced in factories with
industrial ingredients, and additives instead of real fruits, vegetables, meats. It does not contain the
nutrients needed for the human body. It gives you higher blood sugar levels, which may lead to heart
diseases and diabetes. Even though ultra-processed food is bad, it is advertised as a life-changing
product. There needs to be a fine line between real food and ultra-processed food. Big companies can
say a lot to sell their products, but in the end, it will be the experts, and scientists people listen to
regarding their health.

908 words

6 Special K #poweringyou - everything we are made of powers everything you are made of
7 “ 'Ultra-processed' products now half of all UK family food purchases”, (l.1-3)