What is ultra-processed food? And why do people disagree about its utility as a concept?

The increasing consumption of industrially processed convenience foods, soft drinks, and fast foods has been associated with a rise in non-communicable diseases, overweight and obesity.

This building block explores the concept of ultra-processed food: how it has been defined, and differing views as to whether it is a useful way of thinking about food and its relation to health and wider sustainability concerns.

FCRN Building Blocks

Building blocks provide accessible introductions to the most important ideas for understanding food system sustainability. Each building block is reviewed by subject experts and includes key definitions, a clear explanation of the idea, and links to curated resources for further learning.