Ultra-processed foods like chips and candy are designed for overconsumption. Cities, stop enabling this health and economic disaster. Prioritize local, real food economies to save your communities from the junk food spiral that’s draining healthcare resources and productivity. Why Some Ultra-Processed Foods Go Down So Easily, So Fast – WSJ
health
Texas May Force Junk Food Warning Labels, Finally!
Doritos and M&Ms might soon carry warning labels in Texas, alerting consumers about the risks of ultra-processed junk food. Cities should cheer; it’s about time transparency arrived. Big Food won’t like it, but your residents’ health and your local healthcare budgets will benefit. Doritos, M&Ms Could Be Forced to Include Warnings in Texas
Bachan’s BBQ Sauce: Big Food or Good Food?
Bachan’s Japanese barbecue sauce just hit $100 million in annual revenue; but should cities celebrate this foodie success story or question what’s inside the bottle? Bachan’s rise mirrors a familiar narrative: commercialized sauces promoted as artisanal, yet highly processed and packaged. Cities need to decide: will you blindly celebrate any culinary business success, or hold […]
How Good Health Became a Luxury Good; Cities Must Push Back
The Atlantic highlights an alarming truth: good health is now a luxury commodity reserved for those who can afford it. Processed food, Big Pharma, and toxic industrial agriculture have turned basic nutrition into expensive lifestyle brands. Cities must reject food and health elitism and focus on local, accessible, and healthy food systems for everyone, or […]
Utah’s Big Bet; Can a State Make America Healthy Again?
Utah just doubled down on wellness, launching the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative to tackle obesity, chronic disease, and poor nutrition head-on. Backed by state leaders, the campaign promotes local agriculture, healthier food access, and active living policies, essentially taking on the industrial food complex directly. You know, things anyone can support as long as […]
Red River Flavor: In the Sugar Surplus Big Food Wins, Public Health Loses (Again)
Global sugar production is hitting record highs, up nearly 5% worldwide, thanks to bumper crops in Brazil, India, and Thailand. For candy and soda makers, it’s a jackpot. But for public health advocates, it’s a disaster. Cheaper sugar means even cheaper junk food flooding cities, exacerbating the obesity epidemic and chronic disease crisis already gripping […]
Our Beef with the Media’s Beef with Beef Science
The The New York Times recently sounded alarms about conflicts of interest in studies that say red meat isn’t so bad – essentially claiming Big Beef is skewing science. Critics quickly fired back that we “never see similar reporting on studies promoting plant-based foods”, pointing out a one-sided media appetite for anti-meat narratives. Indeed, the […]
Bye Bye Red Dye Number 5!
The food industry’s chemical fiesta is getting kicked out of school cafeterias – at least in Utah. Governor Spencer Cox signed a law banning a list of artificial additives from all public school meals. Say goodbye to Red Dye No. 3, Yellow No. 5, Blue No. 1 & 2, and a bunch of other lab-concocted […]
Maine Food Sovereignty
An Indigenous-led group in Maine is literally taking food sovereignty into its own hands by reclaiming 245 acres of farmland for Wabanaki farming and culture. The nonprofit Niweskok (“From Stars to Seeds”) raised $1.8 million to buy a former horse farm in Waldo County, aiming to turn it into a hub for growing traditional crops […]
ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS DRIVING AMERICA’S CHRONIC DISEASE EPIDEMIC
After decades of churning out processed food-like substances, America is now reaping the health disaster it sowed. Our leading causes of death – heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers – are largely diet-driven chronic diseases, not random bad luck. Ultra-processed foods make up 58% of the American diet, and they’re directly linked to higher rates of […]