Ultra-Processed Foods and Health Risk: Scientific Evidence and Trends

Jessica Attie | New York Times
Oct 25, 2025By Jessica Attie | New York Times

"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.

1970s-1990s - An Ultraprocessed Food Explosion

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