Spotlight on processed food in US

The appointment of Robert F Kennedy Jr as the incoming US health secretary by Donald Trump has created ripples well beyond US health circles.

His alternative views on vaccines, fluoride and COVID 19 have grabbed multiple headlines since his appointment even if they were dismissed when he was a peripheral player in US politics before he became part of the Donald Trump team.

Another area where he has expressed robust views is on the role that ultra processed food has in the American diet. Given the incoming presidents liking of McDonald’s and diet coke, the new health secretary will have to perform something of a balancing act in this area and he was in fact recently pictured having a McDonald’s meal with the president and Elon Musk.

Food choices

The new US health secretary’s views means that the topic of food types will feature in conversation and the media over coming weeks and perhaps for the duration of his time in office.

Dietitians and nutritionists tend to shy away from calling out specific food categories as bad, preferring to advocate for lots of fruit and vegetables and moderate consumption of meat, dairy and carbohydrates with sugar based foods placed in the occasional treat category.

Another popular line is that there are no bad foods, just bad diets where foods are consumed in the wrong proportions.

Consumer preference for processed food and its growth in popularity in retail and food service over recent decades has meant the development of a huge industry in its production.

Multiple ingredients are used in various combinations to create taste and flavour in a multitude of products that fit all meal occasions including snacks. Very often these products will be presented as either low fat or low sugar with the effect of these products being created artificially.

Good or bad?

In the journey to mass consumption of processed foods, traditional meat and dairy products were frequently presented as “bad” or unhealthy food choices.

For example, butter with nothing added apart from a little salt which is optional was typically pitched as an unhealthy choice while manufactured spreads with multiple ingredients including a colour to make it look like butter, was pitched as good.

This thinking has receded more recently with butter and other dairy products joining eggs in being reclassified as good products in a balanced diet.

White meat, particularly chicken also enjoys a relatively favourable press but despite an acknowledgement of its nutritional benefits in the diet, there remains misgivings about red meat in some circles.

Whatever the merits or otherwise of processed foods, there is no disputing that the product leaving Irish farms whether meat, dairy, grain, fruit or vegetables is food in its most natural state. Vast quantities are consumed close to this natural state with the reminder used as ingredients in the processed food category or drinks in the case of some grain.

It isn’t necessary to agree with incoming US health secretary’s controversial views to recognise that the natural products leaving Irish farms have a positive place in any diet and perhaps that needs to be shouted louder.