Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isnt Food … and Why Cant We Stop?

Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isnt Food … and Why Cant We Stop? by Chris is an investigation into ultra-processed food, looking at how it is made, sold and consumed. The book explores the science, economics, history and production behind what it describes as a new “age of eating”, in which a large proportion of calories comes from substances that are industrially processed and designed and marketed to be addictive.

Framed as a journey through the world of food science and a diet centred on UPF, it asks what these foods are doing to our bodies. It challenges the idea that exercise and willpower are enough, and argues that the wider food environment makes different choices difficult. The book also presents the subject as a question of rights, including the right to understand what we eat and what it does to our bodies, and the right to good, affordable food.

Key details

• Includes two bonus chapters, including an FAQ
• Number one Sunday Times bestseller
• Fortnum & Mason’s Debut Food Book of the Year 2024
• Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year 2023
• Chosen as a Science Book of the Year 2023 by The Times and The Sunday Times

Synopsis

This book examines ultra-processed food through the lenses of science, economics, history and modern production. It follows the author’s travels through food science and a UPF diet to explore what is happening in the body and why these products are so hard to resist.

It argues that the issue is not simply personal choice, and that exercise and willpower cannot solve the problem on their own. It also sets out a case for the right to know what we are eating and what it does to our bodies, alongside the right to good, affordable food.