In this week’s News from the Farm, we hear from our Food Lead, Emily Lloyd, about her reflections following a panel discussion at the Danish Embassy on the impact of Ultra Processed Foods.
In the UK, we have a dependency on Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs). As a nation, 57% of our diet is made up of them – and the rates are even higher in younger generations (75% for teenagers). UPFs are defined as ‘foods that contain many ingredients, chemical additives, and little to no whole foods.’
The topic of UPFs is multifaceted and the panel discussion could have gone on for days; it covered everything from education, farming, manufacturing, and government responsibility, to how income and location influence what we eat. I was left with so many questions, but it also made me reflect on Riverford’s food mission and how we can play a part in encouraging diets that are lower in UPFs, by helping people to enjoy cooking more.
It’s also important to note that processing food isn’t inherently bad, and that not all processed foods are created equal. There are lots of healthy processed foods, such as yoghurt, wholegrain bread, and tinned beans; the processing of food is essential in our modern food system, so creating fear around it is unhelpful and confusing. Instead, a more useful focus would be on increasing the consumption of fruit, veg, and wholefoods, and supporting people to cook from scratch.
Sounds simple, right? But it’s not. UPFs are cheap and designed to be ultra-palatable and addictive, so we buy more of them; it’s not our fault we can’t get enough. But perhaps more crucially, cooking from scratch takes time, energy, equipment, and skill. That’s why it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to stop eating UPFs. They’re unavoidable and can even help us to make healthier meals – I have a go-to curry paste which is a really convenient way to make a veg-packed curry, and doesn’t negate any of the goodness of the wholefoods in the meal.
For us, it’s about putting vegetables centre-plate, which supports health and keeps things exciting in the kitchen. As a new mum, I’m aware of what my son sees every day and am trying to show him that fruit, veggies, and cooking are part of daily life. Cooking should be fun, whatever your skill level, and we hope that Riverford’s food celebrates that, too.
Want to try a seasonal, veg-centred recipe, like the one featured in this image? Visit Riverford, here.
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