Our government must tell The Whole Truth about ultra-processed food

Ultra-processed food is making headlines - and few of them are good.

Polling by the government’s Food Standards Agency reveals that people are more concerned about ultra-processing than almost anything else - except cost.

A substantial body of research shows diets dominated by ultra-processed food can harm our health, increasing the risk of a variety of serious illnesses. Yet, over half the calories in the average UK diet comes from ultra-processed food. For children, it’s even higher - over 65%.

Our unhealthy food environment didn’t happen overnight - and powerful companies benefit from it being this way.

We're calling on the government to tell The Whole Truth about ultra-processed foods and take urgent action to protect the nation’s health. Sign our petition.

We need to rebalance diets towards whole foods

Ultra-processed foods crowd out healthier options like fruit and veg, and even healthier processed foods like canned veg and tinned fish. These whole and minimally processed foods are associated with much better health outcomes. They are the foundation of a healthy diet.

But ultra-processed foods are displacing healthy foods from our diets - and this is no accident.

Who benefits from our ultra-processed food system?

Ultra-processed food companies are everywhere. Their ads are on billboards, on our TVs and our phones. They use misleading health claims such as “no added sugars” and “high in protein”. And, behind the scenes, they lobby our government, influencing policies that should be protecting our health.

Lobbying is “any legal attempt by individuals or groups to influence government policy or action”. It might be legal, but there is increasing evidence that the marketing and political practices of ultra-processed food corporations undermine government action to improve the nation’s diet. Lobbying stifles the development and implementation of policies aimed at preventing diet-related disease and ill health, risking poorer health outcomes overall.

It’s no wonder public trust in these corporations is so low. Less than 2% of people surveyed in new public polling said they “completely trust” food corporations to give advice around healthy eating. About half said they don’t trust them at all.

Our food system is unhealthy - by design.

Emails obtained by The Soil Association show how ultra-processed food companies have persistently lobbied The Department of Health. Their goal? To remove healthy food recommendations from official guidance given to retailers.

The Department of Health and Social Care had planned to encourage retailers to offer more deals on minimally processed and nutritious foods like veg, beans and rice, shifting the balance away from UPFs.

But industry lobbyists, representing the UK's biggest ultra-processed food companies, demanded this advice was removed from the guidance issued to retailers. They pushed to remove the words ‘minimally processed and nutritious foods’ from guidance for retailers on product promotions like Buy One Get One Free.

This is despite overwhelming scientific evidence that minimally processed and whole foods are crucial for a healthy diet.

Now, the guidance only encourages the promotion of “healthier options” as defined by the government’s Nutrient Profile Model. A wide range of ultra-processed foods ‘pass’ the model and are deemed ‘healthier’. These include ultra-processed energy drinks, crisps, snacks, cereal bars, fizzy drinks, puddings, pizzas, burgers, ice creams, pastries, and chewing gums.

This guidance should have been used to steer retailers towards making genuinely healthy fresh and whole foods more affordable. Instead, we’re left with business as usual.

It’s time to transform our food system

Our reliance on ultra-processed food isn’t about individual choices. We live in an ultra-processed food system that prioritises private profits over public health.

The public wants change - and the government should listen.

The Whole Truth demands that the government’s Food Strategy puts healthy, affordable whole and minimally processed food—like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains—within everyone's reach, especially children and vulnerable communities.

The government’s new food strategy must make it easy for everyone to enjoy a minimally processed diet

The government has a chance to build a better food system. To do this, they must resist the influence of the ultra-processed food industry and make it easy for everyone to enjoy a minimally processed diet.

As the government begins its dialogue with stakeholders around a food strategy, it must uphold its aims to provide more easily accessible and affordable healthy food, build supply chain resilience and reduce the impact of food production on biodiversity and climate. Whole and minimally processed food must be at the heart of its policy development.  

In our briefing for the government’s food strategy team, we highlighted some of our programmes and initiatives that show what’s possible. Programmes like Food For Life, Sustainable Food Places and Innovative Farmers are leading the way in making healthy food accessible and affordable for everyone, while also protecting our planet.

The solutions to our unhealthy food system already exist. The government just needs to listen and act.

Join us in demanding a food strategy that puts our health first. Sign and share our petition today!