From time to time, when my journey into the mysteries of disease prevention was just beginning, I would discover someone whose work really spoke to me, who helped to clarify the things I was beginning to see, and who became a sort of personal mentor to me as I continued on the path. One of these people was Michael Pollan, who was catapulted to fame with his insightful and riveting books, especially The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. He shared that Carlos Monteiro, a professor of nutrition at the University of São Paulo, was the first to label and define ultra-processed items. He said that whereas processed food could be made at home, ultra-processed items contained ingredients no normal person has at home, and required equipment you would find only in a factory. Touché. 

Ultraprocessed items are not just bad in a no-harm, no-foul sort of way. They are not simply benign place holders for truly nourishing food. The research shows that they interfere on a subcellular level with the most basic functions, including digestion, respiration, movement, reproduction. They have everything to do with the obesity epidemic, as well as its enormity of associated chronic disease. While one might, perhaps, suggest that — at least — they entertain, under no circumstances do they nourish. 

In 2008, Michael Pollan developed further notoriety for the Oscar-nomination of his documentary Food, Inc, which exposed the role of agriculture in the ultra-processing industry in the U.S. Its sequel, Food, Inc 2, showed that Big Food still has no intention of rethinking its exceedingly profitable product lines. Pollan’s mantra – “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants” – was immortalized in 2008 in his book, In Defense of Food, which cemented his fame as a leading spokesperson on the production of what we eat. It is no exaggeration to say that The Omnivore’s Dilemma changed the way I think about food. Another memorable phrase of his, and one that I, myself, have used many times, was not to eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.

Up until the Covid pandemic, Pollan didn’t think enough had changed in the ultraprocessed items industry to make it worth taking another look. But then he had a realization about its power and influence. According to Pollan, the forces arrayed against change were frankly much stronger than he and co-producer Eric Schlosser, the journalist and food writer, had initially realized. They both felt they’d been naive to think that simply arming consumers with information would drive the necessary change. 

I confess that I felt similarly. I believed that empowering consumers with clear explanations would go a long way toward reversing the role that ultraprocessing played in the epidemic of chronic disease. I cannot say that there has been no change at all, but, as Pollan said, “…nowhere near as much as it will take to dislodge power in the food system.” Where he and I differ is that, knowing what we now know, I would no longer consider it appropriate to use the word “food” to describe ultra-processed products. Pollan describes the ultra-processed items industry, a/k/a “Big Food,” as a system perverted by corporate money; and he continues to speak out on the government’s role in the perpetuation of the status quo.

In a more perfect union, policies would be organized around the health of citizens and the environment. Instead, current policies subsidize overproduction of inexpensive commodities in a bizarre catch-22 designed simultaneously to fatten markets, broaden distribution routes, and feed profit margins.