Foods that are processed in ultra-high quantities are destroying our health
Agriculture is one of the major drivers of environmental changes. It’s responsible for a third of the carbon dioxide emissions and around 70 percent of freshwater consumption. It also occupies 38% of the land in the world, which is also the main source of loss of biodiversity.
Research has revealed how western diets with excess energy as well as animal products are known to have substantial environmental effects. Still, there are environmental issues that relate to food products that are processed in a high-tech manner.
The impact of these food items on the health of humans is well documented, but their effects on the environment aren’t as thought. This is a surprise, given that processed foods are a significant part of foodstuffs in countries with high incomes (and sales are increasing rapidly across middle and low-income countries as well).
Our most recent research, conducted by our colleagues from Brazil and Brazil, suggests that globalized diets that are high in processed foods are at the cost of the cultivation, production, and consumption of “traditional” foods.
How can you tell if a food is processed or not?
Ultra-processed food is a category of food items described to be “formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, that result from a series of industrial processes.”
They usually contain cosmetic ingredients as well as a few or no food items. They can be thought of as food items you’d have to make at home. Examples include sweets, soft drinks, chips, ready-to-eat meals, and fast-food items from restaurants.
Contrary to this, there is the case with “traditional” foods – such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, preserved legumes, meat, and dairy products, which are minimally processed or produced using traditional processing techniques.
Traditional methods of processing like fermentation, canning, and bottling are crucial to ensure food safety and secure food supply. However, foods that have been ultra-processed are processed to a greater extent than is needed to ensure food safety.
Australians have the highest rates of consumption of processed foods. These foods comprise the equivalent of 39% of the total energy intake of Australian people. This is higher than Belgium, Brazil, Columbia, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, and Spain; however, it is lower than that of the United States, where they contribute 57.9 percent of adult intake of energy from their diets.
Based on an examination of data from the 2012 Australian Health Survey (the most current national data available), the most processed food items that provided the highest nutritional energy to Australians aged two and over included ready-to-eat meals, fast food, sweets, cakes, cake, buns, and cakes breakfast cereals and fruit drinks, as well as sweets, and iced tea.
Read more: The rise of ultra-processed foods and why they’re really bad for our health
What are the environmental impacts?
Ultra-processed food products also depend on a limited number of crops, which puts an additional burden on the ecosystems where these ingredients are produced.
Soy, wheat, maize, and oil seeds (such as palm oil) are great examples. These are the crops that are sought-after by food producers due to the fact that they are inexpensive to produce and produce high yields, which means they can be grown in large quantities.
Additionally, the animal-derived ingredients used in foods that are ultra-processed come from animals that depend on the same plants for food sources.
