# What percentage of food supply is processed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2018, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984 "2018-02-17T07:10:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/21 "2018-02-18T00:38:05Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > A lot of the additives found on sports drinks are known to cause ADHD. Cite? ADHD is largely a genetic disorder. Sports drinks are high calorie and a child or adult may rate behavior as more hyperactive, but that is not ADHD. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/22 "2018-02-18T01:44:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m trying to think what “unprocessed” food would even be. Maybe an apple that you picked right off of a tree and chomped into? Without rubbing it off on your shirt first, of course. Mind you, unless it’s a crabapple, it’d still be a GMO, but it’d be an unprocessed GMO. > > Mixing ingredients together is processing. Removing inedible parts like rinds is processing. Cooking is processing. In the context of food science and nutrition, “processed” essentially means using finely ground or milled macronutrient (non-spice) ingredients, mechanically separated and reformed (e.g. “chicken fingers”, bologna, hot dogs/sausage) product, or adding sugars, fats, or stabilizers to improve flavor and shelf-life for long term storage. Washing, trimming, slicing, roasting, sauteeing, et cetera is not “processing” even though a chef will call deboning or filleting a carcass “processing” in the culinary sense. In some cases, sanitation processing is done for public health reasons such as pastuerization, which has saved many lives compared to foodborne illnesses prior to introduction, and despite the claims of woo artists, does not introduce carcinogens or significantly reduce essential nutrient value (though it does reduce or eliminate probiotic substances which may or may not be beneficial). All cooking and food preparation is essentially done to make food more appealing and nutrients more readily available (and utterly necessary to support the caloric requirements of our brains), but the highly processed sugar-enriched baked goods and boxed foods are specifically engineered to bypass normal appetite regulation mechanisms, leading to obesity in many if consumed as a dietary staple without restriction. They also lack nutritional balancd in macronutrients and without supplementation or enrichment don’t provide vital micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Compared to freshly prepared foods and whole grain cereals they are nutritional junk. Certain additives or imbalances in nutrients may exacerbate physiological cognitive and gastrointestinal (GI) problems, but poor nutrition alone does not “cause” Crohn’s disease, autistic spectrum disorders, ADHD, et cetera. There is evidence that sensitivity to certain types of proteins may cause GI or other inflammatory disorders in some populations of people because of genetic susceptibility, and it is not surprising that diet can influence mood or personality disorders but the idea that processed foods are the cause of all modern ailments besides obesity is not based on factual evidence. At most, we can say that processed foods leave consumers subsceptible to dietary deficiencies that would normally be satisfied by a typical pre-Industrial diet of every edible portion of game or food animals and substantial staples of whole grains and vegetables, and with very little refined sugars besides honey or molasses. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/23 "2018-02-18T02:32:20Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > Cite? > > ADHD is largely a genetic disorder. > > Sports drinks are high calorie and a child or adult may rate behavior as more hyperactive, but that is not ADHD. [http://fitandfunctional.com/the-negative-effects-of-gatorade/](http://fitandfunctional.com/the-negative-effects-of-gatorade/) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/24 "2018-02-18T02:45:17Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > [http://fitandfunctional.com/the-negative-effects-of-gatorade/](http://fitandfunctional.com/the-negative-effects-of-gatorade/) That’s not a cite. It’s an article on a for-profit website that is also making unsourced claims. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/25 "2018-02-18T02:49:40Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > A lot of the additives found on sports drinks are known to cause ADHD. From the [Mayo Clinic](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/adhd/expert-answers/adhd/faq-20058203): > [@](#): > > Food additives include artificial colors, artificial sweeteners and preservatives. There’s no solid evidence that food additives cause attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). > [@Luciano700](#): > > While yes some processing is what kills some of the bacterias and some of it hurries up the process, but that doesn’t mean is always neccesary. Processing means much more than this. Processing is a huge collection of activities that makes foods last without spoilage, improves taste and texture, prevents depletion of nutrients, allows for final use by adding just a few ingredients, and all the other things that fill supermarkets and restaurants. I am not about to argue that every bit of processing is necessary or that none of it is harmful. However, some “additives” and some “processing” are required as soon as you move away from running your own family farm. Lumping all processing together and damning all additives is food quackery. Saying that additives _cause_ certain ailments is also quackery. It’s basically gossip equivalent to a checkout counter tabloid and has about the same ratio of truth to utter nonsense. > [@Luciano700](#): > > [http://fitandfunctional.com/the-negative-effects-of-gatorade/](http://fitandfunctional.com/the-negative-effects-of-gatorade/) What did I say about “extremely misleading food scare hype that quack sites use to get people to buy they own phony products”? If you scavenge in sewers you’re bound to get sick. Don’t drag somebody’s shit through our living rooms. ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/26 "2018-02-18T03:50:12Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > From the [Mayo Clinic](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/adhd/expert-answers/adhd/faq-20058203): > > Processing means much more than this. Processing is a huge collection of activities that makes foods last without spoilage, improves taste and texture, prevents depletion of nutrients, allows for final use by adding just a few ingredients, and all the other things that fill supermarkets and restaurants. > > I am not about to argue that every bit of processing is necessary or that none of it is harmful. However, some “additives” and some “processing” are required as soon as you move away from running your own family farm. > > Lumping all processing together and damning all additives is food quackery. Saying that additives _cause_ certain ailments is also quackery. It’s basically gossip equivalent to a checkout counter tabloid and has about the same ratio of truth to utter nonsense. > What did I say about “extremely misleading food scare hype that quack sites use to get people to buy they own phony products”? If you scavenge in sewers you’re bound to get sick. Don’t drag somebody’s shit through our living rooms. You can’t just ditch everything off and say is fake, there was another page with this report… Are we gonna call the global warming in China fake next? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/27 "2018-02-18T03:57:51Z")
No. But we’ll call the numerous sites denying it fake. Someone saying something on the Internet doesn’t make it true. Nor does it make it false. Just the fact that someone is saying something means nothing at all. When someone who knows what they’re talking about says something, though, that does mean something. Someone like, say, the Mayo Clinic. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/28 "2018-02-18T04:08:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When someone who knows what they’re talking about says something, though, that does mean something. Someone like, say, the Mayo Clinic. Oh, and you expect a manufacturer of processed egg products to be an objective source? ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/29 "2018-02-18T05:30:24Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > You can’t just ditch everything off and say is fake, there was another page with this report… > > Are we gonna call the global warming in China fake next? I think I found the study that is the source of the claims above, but this is just due to similarities as that article didn’t have cites. The studies don’t tend to show that it causes ADHD, but that it may impact the manifestation of behaviors in the **general population.** Check out how the _“Difference in estimated means”_ on Figure 3 and 4 on this paper which seems to be the one with the most cites and references. Particularly note: > [@](#): > > Bars=95% CI. Dashed line=zero difference between mean GHA under active mix > and mean GHA under placebo. [PDF "Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial "](https://www.muwellness.com/sites/default/files/ESTUDIO.%20Los%20colorantes%20artificiales%20aumentan%20la%20falta%20de%20atenci%C3%B3n,%20impulsividad%20e%20hiperactividad%20de%20los%20ni%C3%B1os.pdf) Note how the 95% confidence interval overlaps and is close to 0 on the comparisons. The 95% confidence interval is the values range range that you can be 95% certain contains the true mean of the group. In the case of this study they that range seems to overlap, and thus we need to look at the mean difference between the two groups. It is fairly safe to assume that if the 95% CI of the difference contains 0, then there is no difference between groups. If it doesn’t contain 0, then there may be a statistically significant difference between groups. But that difference does not imply causation itself. The _Difference in estimated means_ on the above mentioned figures _seems_ to be this measure. But the data is not public that I can find. From _Table 3: General GHA estimates in linear mixed models during challenge period for 3-year-old children_ Mix A vs placebo 0·20 (0·01 to 0·40)‡ 0·24 (0·02 to 0·47)‡ 0·31 (0·04 to 0·58)‡ Mix B vs placebo 0·16 ( **–0·04** to 0·35) 0·16 (**–0·07 to 0·38) 0·19 (–0·08** to 0·46) Mix A vs placebo 0·20 (0·01 to 0·39)‡ 0·28 (0·05 to 0·51)‡ 0·32 (0·05 to 0·60)‡ Mix B vs placebo 0·17 ( **–0·03** to 0·36) 0·19 (**–0·04 to 0·41) 0·21 (–0·06** to 0·48) Note how \*Mix B \* crosses zero, and Mix A (under the lowest p-value) is only 0.01 on the entire sample. The _statistical significance_ of this study is really just significant enough to justify another study to see if the results can be replicated or improved, but not nearly strong enough to claim a correlation let alone causation. And despite pop-sci and pseudoscience claims that this is evidence that ADHD is _caused_ by the artificial ingredient it does in no way make that claim. I don’t have access to the data or their methods and there still may be a statistically significant difference between the means, but the data they presented, which seems to yet be replicated does not justify claiming it is a cause at this point in time. Lets put this in perspective, ADHD is a spectrum in the DSM, and it probably doesn’t have a single cause but there are well over 1000 studies linking it to biological inheritance and or genetics, and there still need to be more to claim that is “the cause” and it will probably only account for 75-90% of the diagnoses. Hopefully this helps some, but note that without pictures or math support I am explaining things in ways that are not exactly correct. It is frustratingly hard to figure this information out as a consumer, and even the professionals are frustrated with the current state of biomedical and social science studies. [https://www.nature.com/news/statisticians-issue-warning-over-misuse-of-p-values-1.19503](https://www.nature.com/news/statisticians-issue-warning-over-misuse-of-p-values-1.19503) ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/30 "2018-02-18T14:12:16Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > [http://fitandfunctional.com/the-negative-effects-of-gatorade/](http://fitandfunctional.com/the-negative-effects-of-gatorade/) …and if it’s on the Internet, it _ **must** _ be true! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/31 "2018-02-18T15:16:23Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > You can’t just ditch everything off and say is fake, there was another page with this report… I can ditch anything with no scientific cites or journal articles to back it up. They are conspicuous by their absence. Stop reading random internet articles. If you want to know something go to Google Scholar and search for the original studies and see what they have to say. Even there, remember that one single article does not create proof, although a good study may create disproof. > [@](#): > > Are we gonna call the global warming in China fake next? And what about the global warming right here in America, where you live? How did you happen to leave that out? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/32 "2018-02-18T15:27:34Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Saying that processed foods may cause Crohn’s Disease is the kind of extremely misleading food scare hype that quack sites use to get people to buy they own phony products. > > The underlying grain of truth is far more complicated and nuanced. And most of it comes from one study, [Changes in intestinal tight junction permeability associated with industrial food additives explain the rising incidence of autoimmune diseases, by Aaron Lerner and Torsten Matthias](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568997215000245) (Autoimmunity Reviews > Volume 14, Issue 6, June 2015, Pages 479-489) > > Autoimmune diseases (AD) comprise a huge range of ailments, including “Multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases (mainly Crohn’s disease), systemic lupus erythematosus, primary biliary cirrhosis, myasthenia gravis, autoimmune thyroiditis, hepatitis and rheumatic diseases, bullous pemphigoid, and celiac disease.” > > What they count as processed food is also very broad. They are not simply the “chemicals” at the bottom of an ingredients list. They start with salt and sugar. The issue with these additives is that it is \*hypothesized \*that they create “increased intestinal permeability” through “the intestinal epithelial barrier, with its intercellular tight junction, [which] controls the equilibrium between tolerance and immunity to non-self-antigens.” > > IOW, some particles that trigger the immune system may leak through less than tight barriers. > > Note that I italicized hypothesized. This is not proven. The paper does not do any medical studies of its own. It is a meta-review of many earlier studies that looked at various elements of what might create such a situation. The authors are careful to caveat their findings. > > We are very, very early in the study of these associations. As soon as you use the word “cause” you throw all solid science out the window. So…John Lennon was on to something then? ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/33 "2018-02-18T18:49:13Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I can ditch anything with no scientific cites or journal articles to back it up. They are conspicuous by their absence. > > Stop reading random internet articles. If you want to know something go to Google Scholar and search for the original studies and see what they have to say. Even there, remember that one single article does not create proof, although a good study may create disproof. > And what about the global warming right here in America, where you live? How did you happen to leave that out? Well after watching a video of a highway in China covered all up in smog, I can say is not as bad as over in China ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/34 "2018-02-18T19:06:03Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > Well after watching a video of a highway in China covered all up in smog, I can say is not as bad as over in China Smog has little to do with Global Warming. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/35 "2018-02-18T19:16:01Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > Well after watching a video of a highway in China covered all up in smog, I can say is not as bad as over in China You’re being “unserious” again, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/36 "2018-02-18T19:31:43Z")
Yeah, global warming _by definition_ isn’t happening in any one country. It’s, you know, global. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/37 "2018-02-18T21:33:36Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Oh, and you expect a manufacturer of processed egg products to be an objective source? The scare story about processed chicken started out as a yolk. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/38 "2018-02-18T22:41:48Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > You can’t just ditch everything off and say is fake, there was another page with this report… “Hey! I have TWO random websites that make the same unsupported claim, and YOU only have a pile of peer-reviewed research!” ---
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/39 "2018-02-19T05:23:49Z")
Come on guys, I know I am being a bit stupid. But still. And yes I remember vaguely about the whole yoga mat thing… What L-Cysteine in our bagels? Isn’t that a bit too much? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984/40 "2018-02-19T05:48:44Z")
> [@Luciano700](#): > > Come on guys, I know I am being a bit stupid. But still. Still WHAT? You’re basically just saying “stop arguing with me”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-food-supply-is-processed/808984.md?page=3)