> You get to "ultra-processed" simply by making things shelf-stable, and shelf-stability isn't an actual health problem (kind of the opposite).
Twenty years ago Michael Polan made a bit of a splash with his The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006) and In Defense of Food (2008). In the latter he summarized things with the advice: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
And the way to accomplish this was, when you go grocery shopping, stick to the edges of the grocery store and to try to avoid the centre aisles. The aisles is where all the "shelf-stable" stuff is. If the food remains 'good' for weeks or months and you don't have to refrigerate it then you should question how much of it you want to consume.
That's the claim. It's true to the extent that the stuff in the middle of the store tends to be engineered for hyperpalatability by jacking up sugars/carbs and fats. But it's not true in the sense that ultra-processing for shelf stability is somehow bad for you. That's the naturalist fallacy.
You can easily compose a straightforwardly unhealthy diet by sticking to the outside of the store!
Twenty years ago Michael Polan made a bit of a splash with his The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006) and In Defense of Food (2008). In the latter he summarized things with the advice: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
And the way to accomplish this was, when you go grocery shopping, stick to the edges of the grocery store and to try to avoid the centre aisles. The aisles is where all the "shelf-stable" stuff is. If the food remains 'good' for weeks or months and you don't have to refrigerate it then you should question how much of it you want to consume.