What Explains Increasing Anxiety About Ultra-Processed Plant-Based Foods?
12th October 2024
Vegetarians are congenital hand-wringers. That’s my guess.
The term “ultra-processed” is poorly understood and inconsistently used, even sometimes by scientists. While in some circles it has become a catch-all term for foods with little nutritional benefit, a wide variety of foods fall under this umbrella.
Ultra-processed foods are popular with consumers for their convenience (frozen pizza), taste (wrapped cookies), and durability (sandwich bread). These elements, plus the relatively low cost of ingredients, make them profitable for manufacturers.
But recently another motivation for ultra-processed foods has emerged: to replace meat or dairy among those attempting to eat a more plant-based diet. With this new category has come anxiety about the health effects of these products, leading to headlines such as “The unhealthiest fake meats you can buy (and why it’s better to go to McDonald’s)”. These concerns were exacerbated by recent research, which found that those who consume 10% more ultra-processed foods derived from plants have a 12% higher risk of death related to diet. However, things are not quite as they seem. Are plant-based diets really so rich in ultra-processed foods, and are they any worse for you?