The Trouble with America's Ultra-Processed Diet

this is an important question! I wonder if the processes food causes pet obesity and pet cancer? It is hard to find information, but as far as I know one difference is “made in USA”, “feed grade” and “human grade” food.

I draw the line at "mega-processed" foods.

>Some foods are highly processed or ultra-processed. They most likely have many added ingredients such as sugar, salt, fat, and artificial colors or preservatives. Ultra-processed foods are made mostly from substances extracted from foods, such as fats, starches, added sugars, and hydrogenated fats. They may also contain additives like artificial colors and flavors or stabilizers. Examples of these foods are frozen meals, soft drinks, hot dogs and cold cuts, fast food, packaged cookies, cakes, and salty snacks.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-are-ultra-processed...

Simpler than that, generally speaking if you can look at the thing you are ingesting and identify what it was in nature it is likely unprocessed or minimally processed. Corn on the cob is unprocessed. Canned corn or corn meal is minimally processed. High fructose corn syrup (and any substance containing it) is ultra-processed.

Even simpler than that, if what you are eating comes out of a machine that looks like this: https://www.starchprojectsolution.com/uploads/1805/2-1P50516... it is almost certainly bad for you.

Ultra processed food… never goes bad, and bugs don’t eat it.