As I indicated last year at this time, my posting on this site is down, but I am reposting some past articles on this site of on LinkedIn when relevant to the current conversation on my feed. I find those conversations on LinkedIn to be enticing. As a defender of (ultra)processed food and a food contrarian, I am tempted to join the conversation even to dispute the prevalent comments. I find the urge to respond addictive and am trying to hold back my responses. Views on the site peaked in 2021 but declined about 25% in 2022 where they leveled off for the past two years.

The election this year in the USA was another close one, but the anti-incumbent sentiment was strong around the world. Elections have consequences, and this one may have major ones for food and health. The current nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has come under fire by many health experts, scientists, and 77 Nobel Prize winners. These opponents may enhance his chances for confirmation as elites are coming under attack. Food activists are salivating at his pledge “to push for stronger recommendations against ultra-processed foods” as well as ban seed oils, high-fructose corn syrup, and alternative sweeteners at American fast-food outlets. Raw milk anyone? These activists apparently believe that such changes in the American diet are more health-promoting than the dangers of vaccine skepticism, removal of fluoride from drinking water, and promoting supplements over food.

We were promised that a new administration would bring mass deportations and less ultraprocessed food. If 36% of agriculture workers in the US and 18% in the food processing industry are undocumented immigrants, how will we find our whole and processed foods if many of these workers are deported? If 60% of the calories Americans consume is ultraprocessed, where will the food come from if these products are restricted? Has anyone else done the math? But on to the year in review.

Themes

Unlike in past years, I did not have many underlying themes in my twelve posts. The most predominant one was the history of food regulation and food distribution. I reviewed Xaq Frohlich’s From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age, and Linn Steward provided her perspective. Then I reviewed the supply chain trilogy which traced the origins of the modern supply chain, wholesale distribution and the evolution of the middleman, and the emergence of the modern supermarket.  I also added two episodes of lessons in food chemistry on chemicals I routinely consume in my diet and chemicals that entice me by their odors.

Milestones

None in 2024, but by early 2025, my total views should go over 100,000.

Food Book of the Year

Nature’s Metropolis by William Cronon was a fascinating look how the interests of the farm and the city merged through commerce to form the initial vestiges of the supply chain greatly aided by rail transport. Advances in technology led to riches by forward looking or fortunate entrepreneurs and bankruptcies by those who held on too long. Some of the food and science books I read this past year were highlighted in my last two posts.

My booklist for the coming year for books on food and science include:

Barons: Money, Power, and Corruption in America’s Food Industry by Austin Frerick and Erik Schlosser

Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House by Alex Prud’homme

The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii’s Cultural Heritage by Rachel Laudan

Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation by Eleanor Barnett

Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature’s Toxins—From Spices to Vices by Noah Whitehead

The Matter of Facts: Skepticism, Persuasion, and Evidence in Science by Gareth Leng and Rhodri Ivor Leng

The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I by Douglas Brunt

Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer by Barbara Ehrinreich

Space Bites: Reflections of a NASA Food Scientist by Vickie Kloeris

UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon by Stuckey

US History in 15 Foods by Anna Zeide

I may not read them all in 2025, and I may choose others instead. I will keep you updated.

Top 10 most viewed posts

None of the most viewed posts made the Top Ten List this year. It seems to take some time for them to marinate on the site before they become popular. Most of them date back to the previous decade. Here they are:

10.The United States of Excess: Gluttony and the dark side of American exceptionalism 2-5-2019

9.Food waste from two different perspectives 6-11-2017

8.Sorting out the differences between ultraprocessed, hyperpalatable, healthy in manufactured foods 10-19-2023

7.What makes a processed food an ultra-processed food? How dangerous to our health is ultra-processing?  6-11-2019

6.How Big Food hides undesirable chemicals in its clean labels 4-22-2017

5.Ultra-Processed People 8-3-2023

4.Are we eating real food, or edible food-like substances? 2-16-2017

3.How much does homemade mayo differ from store-bought mayo? By Julie Jones 10-13-2022

2.My personal experience with Hello Fresh 2-17-2018

1.Fast food and its effect on regional cuisines 8-21-2018

The number one interest in my readers seem to be ultraprocessed foods, as six of the Top Ten posts relate to the topic, either directly or indirectly. Book reviews, my favorite topics, only hit on two of the Top Ten. I suspect that at least two of those listed above (#1 and #3) benefitted from class assignments as their peak viewing occurred only over a very short time.

Future of processedfoodsite.com in 2025

Throughout the past year I have contemplated giving up the blog and moving on with my life. Many activities, including my almost daily bike rides, squeeze out time I need to carefully research and write my posts. I am committing to a once-a-month post with an emphasis in my Lessons in [food] Chemistry series. I have also had some success in posting some items in my Archives on LinkedIn when such topics come up in the discussion. I will continue that practice when merited in 2025.

New Year’s Resolutions

I will try to refrain from instant replies to posts on LinkedIn and limit my responses. Wish me luck with that one! In 2025 I hope to veer away from an emphasis on ultraprocessed foods and more to a broader view of food and culture as well as an appreciation for the chemical nature of foods. The chemicals in all foods—whole, home-prepared, processed, or unprocessed—are so fascinating and so misunderstood!

Coming Soon: Lessons in (food) Chemistry—The most toxic chemical I consume is . . .