ultra-processed foods

Top Tweets
A gleaming glass skyscraper with the word Allianz on the top.
Hands of a man sitting at a desk with a laptop filling out a paper form with a pen.
Wind turbines in the distance with a yellow field in the foreground and a blue sky in the background.
A sign in front of a Max-Planck Institut building with bushes nearby.
As climate change worsens, junk food companies exploit the crisis for profit
Photo by Di Weng on Unsplash

As climate change worsens, junk food companies exploit the crisis for profit

As droughts and extreme heat become more common, communities in vulnerable regions are turning to ultraprocessed foods and sugary drinks, with junk food companies capitalizing on the dire situation to boost sales.

Lindsey Smith Taillie writes for The New York Times.

In short:

  • Droughts and extreme weather are making fresh food and clean water scarce, driving poor communities to rely on junk food.
  • Companies are aggressively marketing sugary drinks and snacks, particularly to children, under the guise of combating malnutrition.
  • Governments need to take stronger action to ensure access to healthy food and water to counter these predatory practices.

Key quote:

"There’s no better time to rein the sales of these foods in — the hotter future will only make us further dependent on them."

— Lindsey Smith Taillie, director of the Global Food Research Program

Why this matters:

With fresh produce becoming scarcer and more expensive, junk food companies are seizing the opportunity to push their products aggressively, exacerbating public health crises, particularly in poor and vulnerable communities. Read more: The outsized role processed food plays in our health and environment.

Keep reading...Show less
supermarket aisle

Laila Benkrima: Ultra-processed foods are not only bad for our bodies, their production damages our environments

Ultra-processed foods are bad for our health and our planet and must be central to any efforts to reduce our carbon emissions, and waistlines.
As investors bet on 'milk without cows,' questions about transparency loom

As investors bet on 'milk without cows,' questions about transparency loom

Perfect Day and other companies making milk with cellular agriculture promise animal-free, lower-carbon products through technology. They may also benefit from a lack of consumer understanding about the science.
ORIGINAL REPORTING
MOST POPULAR
CLIMATE