Americans are among the world's biggest consumers of ultra-processed foods, which comprise more than half of an average adult’s diet and two-thirds of a child’s. As technology continues to accelerate innovations in additives, chemicals and food products, U.S. regulators are struggling to keep up. CBS Reports examines why ultra-processed foods have become so pervasive in the American diet, and what filling the gaps in federal regulation can do to ensure Americans are fed and healthy. Watch more CBS Reports documentaries that dive into the key issues driving the national and global conversation at cbsnews.com/cbs-reports CBS News 24/7 is the premier anchored streaming news service from CBS News and Stations that is available free to everyone with access to the internet and is the destination for breaking news, live events, original reporting and storytelling, and programs from CBS News and Stations’ top anchors and correspondents working locally, nationally and around the globe. It is available on more than 30 platforms across mobile, desktop and connected TVs for free, as well as CBSNews.com and Paramount+ and live in 91 countries. Subscribe to the CBS News YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/cbsnews Watch CBS News: https://cbsnews.com/live/ Download the CBS News app: https://cbsnews.com/mobile/ Follow CBS News on Instagram: https://instagram.com/cbsnews/ Like CBS News on Facebook: https://facebook.com/cbsnews Follow CBS News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbsnews Subscribe to our newsletters: https://cbsnews.com/newsletters/ Try Paramount+ free: https://paramountplus.com/?ftag=PPM-05-10aeh8h For video licensing inquiries, contact: [email protected]
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This video should go viral: 10,000 chemicals in our foods compared to 400 in Europe?! This is a crime against Americans
A grocery store that has a health food section should make you wonder about the rest of the store.
Damn…. THAT ENDING hurt.
Thank you for highlighting this issue, corporate greed has suffocated the American spirit for too long we need healthy and nutritious foods to sustain us in these dark times. The government needs to step up and force antitrust laws.
The fact that 2/3 of US population doesn't know what ultra processed foods are is incredible...
Take care Tiara, I'm so sorry for your loss, but stay strong, stay healthy. rest in peace Crystal 🙏
I genuinely believe this is the single most important issue faced by America today, bar none. There is nothing more crucial, individually and collectively, than a person's health - both mental and physical. The food we ingest into our bodies is the primary driver of our health or lack thereof. Think about it: we're literally taking physical matter and putting it inside ourselves. Getting this right is absolutely critical. Why is this THE most important issue? Consider these points: 1. The astronomical costs of chronic diseases linked to poor diet are crippling our healthcare system and economy. We spend far more on chronic disease treatment/management than we do on war. 2. Our quality of life and longevity are directly tied to what we eat. Health is intrinsically important. Without good health, nothing else matters. 3. Mental health, cognitive function, and even societal behavior are influenced by nutrition. Productivity, criminality, living harmoniously with others: all these things are influenced by our mental health, which we are more and more finding is tied to what food we eat. 4. A healthy population is more productive, creative, and capable of tackling other pressing issues. At a personal level, we should all strive to make the best dietary choices possible. But this isn't just about individual responsibility. As a society, we cannot stand idly by while corporate greed and corruption continue to profit from our sickness, addiction, and ignorance. We need to take action: 1. Ban all marketing of ultra-processed food products directed at children. Full stop. I’d go further with banning commercials on tv - like cigarettes - but that’s not gonna happen anytime soon. 2. Implement stark warning labels on ultra-processed foods, similar to cigarette packs, stating they're known to lead to adverse health outcomes and can potentially be addictive. 3. Launch massive public education campaigns about the dangers of ultra-processed foods and the benefits of whole foods. 4. Incentivize the production and accessibility of healthier food options, and disincentivize the production of junk food by implementing stricter regulations, more aligned with other developed countries. The food we eat shapes every aspect of our lives and our nation's future. It's time we treat this issue with the urgency it deserves and take bold steps to reclaim our health from the jaws of the ultra-processed food industry. Denormalize the ubiquity of ultraprocessed foods in our life and culture. We need to shift our cultural attitude towards ultra-processed foods. Just as saying "I could go for a cigarette" now often elicits concern rather than encouragement, we should react similarly to casual mentions of fast food cravings. Instead of laughing or agreeing when someone says "I could go for some Taco Bell," we should recognize this as a potentially harmful impulse.
“The FDA says it’s committed to overseeing the safety of the food supply” Red dye 40 would like to disagree.
The FDA guy is a true politician. He answered the question without answering the question😅
Poor Tiara and her family. My thoughts are with her and her family 😔💔
Big tobacco companies have bought many ultra processed food companies.
I'm going on 4 years clean and sober and I'm more proud of eating clean than my sobriety. Then again I couldn't sober up till I got the nutrition down.😃Life is good.
Remember when Michelle Obama caught so much grief for trying to improve school lunches ??
Thank you European Union for not giving us an American FDA system. Best of luck to Bernie Sanders
How unfortunate. R.I.P to Crystal
The irony of Pfizer sponsoring this video.
This is why I shop on the outside aisles in the supermarket--fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, and poultry. It's the inner aisles where are the unhealthy food is. Start cooking with fresh ingredients, instead of eating processed food.
It's not about individual choice, it's about corporate greed.
“Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?” Chris van Tulleken
This needs to be a daily news covered topic. This has been the norm for years. You try to eat healthy, and it is more expensive. You look at the choices up and down the isles, and it all comes from the same 4 companies that make them. And now you have places like Kroger merging with Albertsons, and the same companies controlling the food, being in charge of making it horrible for your health, getting you addicted to it, and then raise the products not effected by supply chain issues just to make record profits.