Navigating Turbulence, Toddlers and Tastiness.
Are Ultra Processed Foods the new culprit behind food anxiety?
Welcome to my monthly thought piece where I dive into a topic that’s on the tips of everyone’s tongues. Read till the end and share your thoughts with me!
Prost! Cheers! I just got back from a holiday to Vorarlberg, Austria, where my mother is from. It had been a while since my last visit, so there were lots of family catch-ups amidst the mountain biking and swimming in mountain pools.
I was embarking on my first international trip alone with my three kids (ages 1.5, 5, and 7) as my husband couldn’t make the outbound journey. The 7-year-old pushed the 1.5 year-old in the buggy so I could manage the luggage trolley and keep the 5 year old in tow. We checked in and boarded the flight without a hitch.
We were doing well until a turbulent landing caused my 7-year-old to throw up. Stretching across the aisle while still belted, I tried to hold several sick bags, eventually replaced by a bin bag while the 1.5-year-old was screaming for my attention. With a bin bag of dirty clothes in one hand, buggy over the shoulder, rucksack on my back and the 1.5-year-old on my hip, we made it off the plane. The kind air stewards handed us a big bag of Swiss chocolates, bottles of water, and wipes.
We checked into the Zurich airport hotel, as I thought it wiser to drive the remaining 2 hours to our destination after a good night's sleep. After the kids had excitedly tested out the beds for bounciness we headed out to find the family friendly restaurant I had googled before hand (the menu looked wholesome). We walked into the airport food area and the kids quickly spotted the Golden Arches of a fast-food place. I ushered the kids away saying we had to find the other restaurant but after 15 minutes of searching, I stood in front of a glowing screen only a click away from fast food happiness.
You might be wondering how a Paris-trained pâtisserie chef and international food writer who has researched many a food issue (my podcast series ‘A carnivore’s crisis’ explores the impact animal farming and the products we eat have on the environment) could consider fast food especially with the media’s recent onslaught of articles on ultra-processed foods.
The University of Cambridge gives UPFs this definition:
"Ultra-processed foods are formulations of ingredients, mostly for industrial use, resulting from a series of industrial processes (hence ‘ultra-processed’).”
I read this book when I was a judge for the Booksellers awards. The research and statistics are terrifying, but as someone who likes to explore various sources before forming an opinion, I found some other interesting reads.
Laura Thomas, a registered nutritionist with a PhD in nutritional science, who I have followed for quite some time, has a very insightful and pragmatic approach to nutrition. She does an excellent deep dive on this subject, where she points out amongst other things how various media-facing wellness gurus/doctors have stakes (directly or indirectly) in the UPF business.
While putting together this piece these posts popped up in my feed (hello Substack algorithm):
It seems like UPFs have replaced the plant-based environmental message that was very relevant in the media a few years ago. It’s well known that doom and gloom headlines are better for business—they get more clicks and more engagement. But is this not just adding to the food anxiety? Shopping for groceries can feel as though every choice will bring about the end to humankind.
My lifelong approach to food has always been:*