{"id":71014,"date":"2022-01-06T05:00:37","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T10:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/?p=71014"},"modified":"2024-07-15T18:46:17","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T22:46:17","slug":"the-war-on-ultra-processed-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quotulatiousness.ca\/blog\/2022\/01\/06\/the-war-on-ultra-processed-food\/","title":{"rendered":"The war on “ultra-processed food”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our self-imagined “elites” have a new crusade to prosecute — the crusade against “ultra-processed food”<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In “public health”, the name of the game is to interfere with people’s lives without having your own choices meddled with. This is straightforward with smoking since the philosopher kings of the nanny state don’t smoke. Alcohol is more tricky since most of them drink, but minimum pricing — which was introduced in Ireland yesterday — offers the perfect way to penalise ordinary people while leaving fine wine and craft beer unaffected. <\/p>\n

The war on food poses the trickiest problem since its pretext — obesity — is the result of over-consumption and physical inactivity rather than the consumption of any specific type of food. “Junk food” is too narrow since most people interpret it to mean “fast food” from a handful of restaurant chains. And so, in the absence of an obvious dietary culprit, the “public health” lobby is shifting towards a crusade against “ultra-processed food”. <\/p>\n

Most people don’t know what this means, but it sounds bad if you have an instinctive objection to industry and modernity. Perhaps it evokes thoughts of “chemicals” and “E numbers”. Certainly, it sounds like the opposite of the “natural”, “organic” and “home made” food so beloved of those who think they are superior to other people. It is, however, a classic “public health” bait and switch. Just as people didn’t realise that a ban on “junk food” advertising would result in adverts for cheese and butter being banned, people won’t realise what a war on ultra-processed food means for them until it is too late.<\/p>\n

In a deranged op-ed in BMJ Global Health<\/em>, some of Mike Bloomberg’s minions from Vital Strategies call for tobacco-style regulation of “ultra-processed food”, starting with warning labels.<\/p>\n