Dire warnings to avoid processed foods no longer grace the internet. Turns out, processed foods are not so bad after all.
Instead, now we need to watch out for heavily processed foods, hyper-processed foods, or ultra-processed foods. Michael Pollan warns us to avoid any processed foods with more than five ingredients. Carlos Monteiro codified these additive-filled foods as ultra-processed in 2009 and declared them unhealthy in a classification scheme called NOVA.
I don’t argue that all processed …
Older adults, numbering 124.4 million in 2025, represent an important and potentially untapped market for food and beverage companies.
Former USDA nutrition policy leader and senior executive Robert Post reflects on the new national diet and nutrition guidance.
Worn down by inflation and uncertain economic conditions, food and beverage shoppers want products that deliver tangible benefits per dollar.
Former NIH researcher Kevin Hall argues that debates about ultra-processed foods are still missing the deeper mechanisms at play—and explains why asking better questions matters more than chasing tidy definitions.
Dialogue author Arlin Wasserman encourages the food industry to avoid getting defensive in response to the MAHA movement and instead to celebrate the positive steps food companies have taken to replace artificial ingredients in food formulations.