Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?
£10.11£10.99 (-8%)
Chosen by the SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, FT and DAILY MAIL as one of their BEST SUMMER BOOKS OF 2023
‘If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one’ Bee Wilson
‘A devastating, witty and scholarly destruction of the shit food we eat and why’ Adam Rutherford
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An eye-opening investigation into the science, economics, history and production of ultra-processed food.
It’s not you, it’s the food.
We have entered a new ‘age of eating’ where most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food, food which is industrially processed and designed and marketed to be addictive. But do we really know what it’s doing to our bodies?
Join Chris in his travels through the world of food science and a UPF diet to discover what’s really going on. Find out why exercise and willpower can’t save us, and what UPF is really doing to our bodies, our health, our weight, and the planet (hint: nothing good).
For too long we’ve been told we just need to make different choices, when really we’re living in a food environment that makes it nigh-on impossible. So this is a book about our rights. The right to know what we eat and what it does to our bodies and the right to good, affordable food.
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by Davie Kleinfeld
Chris Packham’s summary on the front cover sums this book up for me: Infuriating and incendiary!
Perhaps I had my head in the sand (but more likely because studies and effects on UPF are niche and in their infancy due to the massive wave of push back by the infinite resource and power of big corp using the exact same criminal tactics as the tobacco, and now oil industry) but unlike other hot potatoes such as AI, climate change and wellbeing etc, I hadn’t heard or seen any significant information or reporting in mainstream media on UPF, how it is made, how it damages the environment, how we are deliberately missold supposedly healthy foods with no regulation to stop the false advertising, how some ‘foodstuffs’ are invented and chemically manipulated with the pure objective of avoiding sales tax (VAT), never mind how it is making us unhealthy with massive social/economic cost, potentially killing us!
Therefore, this book was a great source of information and eye opener on the world of UPF, why it is produced (unnecessarily), how it is made, what different chemical substances are and can do (e.g. E numbers) what it may be doing to us, and how it is pushed by big corp with nation states deliberately turning a blind, and not so we can have a secure, abundant, wide variety of food, but purely for massive financial gain at our expense.
After reading this I now think UPF is as bigger timebomb as climate change (also caused by UPF production) and UPF should be treated as more deadly and costly, both social and economic, than smoking ever was. We the people should be demanding our governments heavily invest in studying the effects of UPF in our diets and clamping down on chemical substances and structures that go into foods in what is a completely self-regulated (in America especially) industry that would never be accepted in other safety conscious industries from pharma to aviation.
I highly recommend this book – its findings and hypothesis should be widely publicised if only for the reason that you are eating this s**t every day and if it is almost impossible to avoid you should be informed what it may be doing to you and your children, your pocket and the future sustainability of this planet. It will make you angry.
by susan chester
This book should be dished out to everyone in the world free !! especially to everyone in goverment !! The schools should be teaching this in the schools from a very early age !! It would help solve the NHS crisis and climate change immensley even more than electric cars !! Why are giant food companiers getting away with filling our processed foods with soo many aditives that they really are far from being “proper” foods !! and thd goverment subsidise them when this money would do soo much better subsidising Organic producers !! It makes my blood boil how things have been able to get this far!! I have no exceptional skills and are far from being any rocket scientist but my common sense has always lead me to believe that all these ailements that are now flooding the population more than ever before…. along with the obesity levels now soo high in the population had to be coming from the foods. OMG how right I was !! They are killing us !!
by Liz Barclay
“Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?” by Chris Van Tulleken is an excellent book that left me truly astounded and deeply informed. From the moment I picked it up, it was an eye-opening journey into the world of ultra processed foods and their impact on our lives.
This book is not just informative; it’s a revelation. It made me question my future food choices right from the get-go. Van Tulleken’s insights into the world of ultra-processed foods are nothing short of transformational. His meticulous research and compelling arguments have completely changed my mindset around what I eat. I find myself constantly examining food packaging in the supermarket, looking for the telltale signs of ultra-processed ingredients.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is its ability to shed light on the strategies employed by market leaders in the food industry. I was genuinely shocked to learn about their methods and how they’ve influenced our dietary habits. It’s a wake-up call that everyone should heed.
Thanks to “Ultra-Processed People,” I’m now committed to reducing my consumption of UPFoods. The book has empowered me with knowledge and a new perspective on the food choices I make. I can’t emphasise enough how valuable this book is for anyone who cares about their health and the quality of the food they put into their bodies.
In summary, Chris Van Tulleken’s book is a game-changer. It’s a call to action, an exploration of the food industry’s tactics, and a guide to making healthier choices. If you’re looking for a book that will open your eyes, challenge your beliefs, and inspire positive change, “Ultra-Processed People” is a must-read! It has certainly transformed the way I view food, and I’m incredibly grateful for the insights it has provided.