How America Got Hooked on Ultraprocessed Foods

Humans have been processing food for millenniums. Neanderthals sizzled meat over open flames; hunter-gatherers ground wild wheat to make bread; and factory workers canned fruit for soldiers during the Civil War.

But in the late 1800s, food companies began concocting products that were wildly different from anything people could make themselve.

Coca-Cola was introduced in 1886.Jell-O in 1897. Crisco in 1911.Spam, Velveeta, Kraft Mac & Cheese and Oreos arrived in the following decades.

In the 1950s and ’60s, more women began working outside of the home, but were still expected to feed their families.

Wonder Bread commercials from the 1950s claimed the product’s added vitamins and minerals would help children “grow bigger and stronger.”

Home refrigerators offered modern freezer compartments, ready to fill with fish sticks, frozen waffles and TV dinners.The earliest processed foods promised ease and convenience.

1970s-1990s - An Ultraprocessed Food Explosion

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