Yes, gratitude. And a genuine one, on top of that. At least at one point in their lives, most people have consumed those foods or, better said, food-like products which come into colorful and shiny packages and which have a wonderful flavor that sends our taste buds into frenzy, making us want more and more. (Or maybe that's just me...) However, at the first occasion, the majority of these processed food eaters will have absolutely no hesitation in trash-talking their culinary choices. Some of these opinions are heartfelt, though scarce. Truth be told, once you've had enough of it, processed food kind of loses its charm. Not to mention its horrible consequences for one's body. Other views, however, are just automatic responses triggered by the socially embedded and widespread perfectionism concerning health promotion and extension.
Now, the question is, are we being fair to processed food? Did it only bring obesity, diabetes and heart disease into the world or is there something more to it? If you ask me, I'd say that easily available, already cooked food has, at least, tried to be our friend. It's probably comparable to the way in which communism has tried to bring about social equality and justice. As some would put it, it's not that the idea itself is wrong, just its poor implementation.
So, how come that the implementation of the idea of processed food ended up going badly and hurting us altogether? As with most stories, it all starts at the beginning. The rationale behind preserving, processing and packaging the fuel that keeps us going is far from being a mystery: convenience. You can find and store this type of food anywhere, buy it cheaply and eat it fast. And this is not even its most exciting feature. Its caloric density makes it a good partner for surviving crazy office hours without a lunch break in between, for surpassing deadlines without getting up from one's desk in order to secure a meal or simply for doing whatever one enjoys doing without having to worry about nutrition. Imagine what our life would be if every time we got pressed by an ongoing project, we'd have to stop every now and then to cook (from scratch), or even better, to start chewing raw food. Just think about how many apples you'd need to fit into your required caloric intake for one day only.
When eaten under these specific conditions, processed products are active contributors to our social, cultural and economic progress. Unless we recognize the input that these foods have had for our evolution in the past few years, we'd be hiding behind a mask of hypocrisy which, in the end, will not be able to deal with the current obesity epidemics and associated diseases. The truth is that processed food has been abused. Also, because it is prone to be abused, it might very well not be a sustainable option for the future. Letting this aside, it did help us to get to where we are right now. And quite a lot, I'd say.
Apart from allowing people to invest more time and effort into their activities, which jointly led to an improvement in overall well-being, processed food also acted as a propelling force behind the empowerment of an important segment of the world's population. Who could that be? Your guess is correct: women. In Michael Pollan's words,
[t]he outsourcing of much of the work of cooking to corporations has relieved women of what has traditionally been their exclusive responsibility for feeding the family, making it easier for them to work outside the home and have careers. It has headed off many of the conflicts and domestic arguments that such a large shift in gender roles and family dynamics was bound to spark. It has relieved all sorts of other pressures in the household, including longer workdays and overscheduled children, and saved us time that we can now invest in other pursuits.
Right now, most of the public discourse or popular views surrounding processed food are built on the idea that these products are detrimental to our health and, as such, we should do whatever it takes to get rid of them. I couldn't agree more. Just one small mention. Let's try to be fair and part gracefully. We owe process foods a lot of our working and free time, many of our technological innovations, social progress and cultural delights. If we want to improve our health and built on the legacy of the fast food era, we need to move forward rather than look back. More specifically, we need to combine the convenience of processed food with the advantages of a more natural nutrition in such a way that we can reap the benefits of both trends. I don't really see any other viable option.
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