Dreaming of Less Industrial Farming and Ultra-Processed Food

“Industrial farming is destroying the earth” and “ultra-processed food is poisoning us.” These narratives are hard to miss in popular culture. Their presence in scientific literature is more subtle, but equally pervasive. So the public is taking note. Ultra-processed foods have become the top food concern of U.S. consumers at the same time the public is increasingly concerned about industrial farming practices.

So can we look forward to a future where industrial farming fades from dominance and ultra-processed foods dwindle in our diets?

Facing facts, we have to say this is not likely.

The Upside of Industrial Farming

In a very engaging essay, Michael Grunwald points out that industrial farming has an essential role to play in the future of food on this planet:

“Industrial agriculture in particular has one real upside: It produces enormous amounts of food on relatively modest amounts of land. And that will be agriculture’s most vital job in the coming decades. The world will need even more enormous amounts of food by 2050, about 50 percent more calories to adequately feed nearly 10 billion people.

“The inconvenient truth is that factory farms are the best hope for producing the food we will need without obliterating what’s left of our natural treasures and vaporizing their carbon into the atmosphere.”

His bottom line is simple:

“There’s no point in demonizing the industrial farmers who make the most food. We should just insist that they make less mess.”

Ultra-Processed Menace

Likewise, the now fully demonized category of ultra-processed foods has a dominant role in our dietary patterns. It seems unlikely to wane. In fact, it plays an important role in food security and food safety. There is reason to believe that the much-maligned ultra-processed foods serve to prevent even higher levels of food waste than we currently suffer.

The label of ultra-processed foods serves as a very broad brush to vilify diverse food products that can have vastly different health effects. Kevin Hall conducted perhaps the most damning study of ultra-processed foods to date. And yet, he tells us he doesn’t expect to see ultra-processed foods evicted from the food supply. It’s unlikely that people will give up their convenience and appeal.

But it is possible, he says, that we can figure out how to make them more healthful to consume.

Click here for free access to Grunwald’s essay and here for perspective on ultra-processed foods for sustainable nutrition.

Strong Dream, painting by Paul Klee / WikiArt

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December 15, 2024