The False War on Processed Food: A Threat to Public Health – HuffPost
HuffPost Italy has just published my commentary on a growing and dangerous trend: blaming so-called ultra-processed foods (UPFs) for obesity and chronic disease. In the piece, I explain why this narrative is misleading, unscientific, and ultimately harmful to public health. The full opinion is available here on the HuffPost. Below is a fuller reflection for my readers.
The False War on Processed Food: A Threat to Public Health
Courts are increasingly being used as battlegrounds for food policy. A US judge has now authorized a lawsuit against major food companies, accusing them of contributing to obesity and cardiovascular disease through so-called ultra-processed foods (UPFs). But the problem begins with the category itself: UPFs have no coherent scientific definition. They are classified by the number of ingredients and the level of processing, which means that nearly everything packaged qualifies.
The supposed causal link between processing, ingredients, and disease does not exist. The hundreds of studies cited in the debate suffer from methodological weaknesses, weak correlations, and conclusions that cannot justify causal claims. Yet the UPFs narrative thrives because it offers a villain.
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It shifts responsibility from the individual to the system and relieves governments, media, and citizens from doing the hard work: educating, providing critical tools, and building effective prevention.
Industrial food produced under rigorous standards is not the enemy. It is a pillar of modern nutrition: it ensures safety, accessibility, stable nutrient quality, reduced waste, innovation, and global availability.
In Italy, 83% of agricultural output is processed by the food industry. Without processing, agriculture would collapse. This sector accounts for around 10 percent of GDP, employs over 400,000 people directly and more than a million across the supply chain, and exports 67 billion euros in value. It is not marginal; it is one of the engines of national competitiveness.
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To attribute obesity and chronic disease to UPFs is to ignore decades of scientific evidence: diet explains only about a quarter of these conditions. The rest lies in genetics, lifestyle factors such as movement, stress, and sleep, socioeconomic environment, and pollution. These determinants don’t create simple narratives or viral campaigns, so the blame shifts to industrial food.
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If we want to reduce obesity and chronic disease, we must abandon scapegoats and invest in knowledge, education, and informed choice. Public health does not improve by attacking industry. It improves through evidence-based policies and by empowering citizens to take responsibility for their own lives. Modernity, including modern food, is an opportunity if we choose to understand it rather than fear it.
