Skip to main content
Food Failures

If You Feel Ultra-Processed Foods Are Hard to Resist, That’s By Design.

By March 20, 2025October 14th, 2025No Comments

If you’ve ever found it tough to resist junk food, you’re not alone. For busy parents juggling work, errands and afterschool care, it can be next to impossible to cook a meal from scratch. Add in the fact that many neighborhoods lack access to grocery stores with fresh produce, and it’s easy to see why families reach for this option just as previous generations did.

While junk food in the 1980s was unhealthy, today’s offerings are not the same. These ULTRA-processed foods/UPFs (not to be confused with whole or slightly processed) might look the same but they are intentionally designed, highly processed and marketed to addict kids and rake in boo coos of money for the food industry.

UPFs, according to the landmark ultra-processed foods lawsuit filed in late December 2024, significantly raise the risk of progressive health conditions like type 2 diabetes in young kids, when their bodies are most vulnerable. The lawsuit explains that UPFs are “‘industrially produced edible substances that are imitations of real rood.’ And you can blame them all on the 1980s tobacco companies,” is the gist of the 148-page lawsuit. Translation: the food industry borrowed its strategy from the old tobacco playbook revitalized in the 80s “to fill our food environment with addictive substances that are aggressively marketed to children.”

Just as cigarettes were formulated to maximize the effects of nicotine, ultra-processed foods are manipulated to maximize cravings and overconsumption.

Sure, we all like thinking we can trust the brands out there with kid-friendly vibes — companies we’ve gone back to for years. But the truth is these companies exist to make money. By concocting industrial recipes that are addictively tasty, cheap, fast, easy, and high-energy, they found a way to make more money at the expense of our kids’ health in the process.

What Do You Mean My Kids Were Targeted by the Food Industry?

Ultra-processed foods marketing and advertising is deceptive — that’s putting it mildly. Ads claiming these food “options” are healthy + organic + natural are a bunch of hype. The words describe original ingredients matching the product’s name, but they don’t describe the many alterations used to create pure junk food. Food scientists carefully engineer ultra-processed foods to hit that “bliss point,” finding the perfect combination of sugar, fat and salt that makes food nearly impossible to resist.

Plus, food manufacturers sell more products if the product tastes awesome, so they’re financially compelled to rock your kid’s taste buds and not worry about their blood profile when they run persuasive campaigns with eye-catching packaging endorsed by your kids’ favorite YouTubers.

What Are Some of the Food Companies in this Lawsuit?

Here are some of the powerful household brands charged in the 148-page UPFs lawsuit filed late December 2024 + some of their most popular products. These monopolies are accused of designing and marketing ultra-processed foods so they’re addictive to children, despite potentially causing chronic disease.

  • Kraft Heinz: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Lunchables, Velveeta Cheese, Delimex Taquitos Frozen Snacks, Miracle Whip
  • Mondelez International: Nabisco, Oreo, Ritz, Chips Ahoy!
  • Post Foods: Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles
  • Coca-Cola Company: Coca-Cola beverages
  • PepsiCo: Pepsi, Frito-Lay snacks, Gatorade
  • General Mills: Honey Nut Cheerios, Fruit Loops
  • Nestle USA: Cheerios, Trix, Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch
  • MARS/ Kellanova: Cheez-It, Pringles, Pop-Tarts, Eggo, Rice Krispies Treats, Nutri Grain, RXBar
  • WK Kellogg: Special K, Frosted Flakes
  • Conagra: Slim Jim, Hebrew National, Egg Beaters, Reddi-Wip

How Can You Keep Your Child from Eating So Many UPFs?

Unfortunately, it’s true that UPFs are affordable, shelf stable, and convenient. Sometimes, they might be the only option available to you. There are even vending machines in schools, so steering clear of them can feel nearly impossible. However, there is hope. If you are wanting to eat healthy on a tight budget— simple, intentional choices can make a big difference.

1

Focus on picking the least processed by looking at the ingredients list. If you see a string of words you can’t pronounce, items that aren’t in your kitchen, that item is ultra-processed.
2

Watch out for sneaky added sugars that make the product taste more irresistible: aka, corn syrup, dextrose, and high-fructose corn syrup are all sugar by another name.
3

Load up your kids’ plates with fruits and veggies (many Dollar Stores now carry frozen vegetables and fruits, which are just as nutritious as fresh and last longer).

Join Us in the Fight to Hold Big Food Accountable.

Bottom line: it’s not that our kids have less willpower — the food itself has changed. The approaches of these companies mirror tactics used by the tobacco industry to foster addiction and dependence on these foods, and it’s making our kids sick. Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are at an even higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes[1], as they are more likely to have limited access to healthier food options and may be more vulnerable to the marketing strategies used by these companies. It’s time to hold them accountable.

If your child is dealing with a type 2 diabetes diagnosis after routinely eating UPFs, we want to help you hold manufacturers responsible. Please reach out to us if you’re concerned about your child. You may be able to participate in the landmark ultra-processed foods lawsuit.

BTW, scientists are only scratching the surface re: just how damaging UPFs are. When we know more, we’ll be sure to cue you in too!

 

[1] Most T2DM in youth is, and low family socioeconomic status.