
A sagacious individual once remarked, "Among all creatures, humans stand out as the ones clever enough to create their own sustenance but foolish enough to consume it." To grasp the essence of this statement, simply gaze into your reflection. Indeed, you're carrying excess weight, and deep down, you understand precisely what must be done to adopt healthier eating habits: cut out all non-essential calories and sugars; say goodbye to candies, chips, and frozen treats. It’s time to cease purchasing such items.
Yet, when you head to the supermarket, you fill your cart with precisely those items you've resolved not to indulge in anymore. As if an unseen power compels you to grab sodas, chips, and chocolates.
When you return home, you think to yourself, "I ought to have a carrot." Yet, you wonder whether indulging in just one piece of chocolate could really hurt. Temptation gets the better of you, followed by feelings of remorse. You berate yourself for being undisciplined. You feel inadequate and useless, seeing yourself as a disappointment. This leads you to continue eating even more.
If this situation sounds familiar, you're not alone.
Having coached thousands of clients as a health consultant, I can confirm that this behavior is quite prevalent.
It disturbs me not just due to the avoidable personal pain it inflicts, but also because I realize this issue is largely unrelated to one’s determination. Strong commercial interests are coordinated to affect what you eat, aiming to undermine your effort to choose healthier options.
The reason behind this is simply that they aren't making any money from carrots or broccoli.
Ultra-processed imitation foods — which mimic real food but come packed with extra flavoring, fats, salts, and sugars — serve as cash cows for major corporations. These large food companies saw their top 25 members collectively rake in £1.4 trillion in revenue during 2023; profits take precedence over all else, and nothing outsells quick meals and items loaded with high amounts of sugar.



Thus, these corporations — including giants like Nestlé, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, Mondelez (the company behind well-known brands such as Oreos and Philadelphia), along with Brazil-based JBS, the global leader in beef production — allocate the majority of their R&D funds toward enhancing the profit margins of said products.
Consequently, they continue to improve their sales techniques, thereby generating increased demand.
As this pattern persists, we as consumers are confronted with an increasing deluge of items that harm our well-being and contribute to weight gain.
Studies indicate that approximately 60 percent of the calories consumed by adults in the UK originate from highly processed foods, with this figure rising to about 65 percent among young individuals. This situation puts our well-being at stake. However, due to the significant impact that large corporations have on what we eat—often unbeknownst to us—the challenge seems daunting.
Large corporations in the food industry, whose revenues exceed those of numerous national economies, have invested years pinpointing the exact instances when we are most vulnerable. This makes us more likely to fall for their marketing tactics. Additionally, these firms allocate significant funds to sponsor individuals online who express firm views about so-called healthy eating and often mock and criticize anyone who challenges them.
If somebody publishes research findings that paint their products in a negative light, they pay their own trusted researchers to quickly publish a study of their own that proves the opposite.
These massive global food corporations wield significant sway over top decision-making tiers across all nations. They extend their reach into various sectors, such as crafting national nutritional recommendations aimed at advising the populace. Consequently, they have the capacity to mold our dietary behaviors subtly, often beyond our awareness.
They influence our thoughts (and our beliefs about what those thoughts should be) regarding food, both on a personal scale and from a global perspective.


This provides them with an advantage. The more uncertain you feel regarding what constitutes a healthy diet, the simpler it becomes for others to sway your decisions – thus making you a potentially more lucrative consumer.
I am in a good position to voice these critiques about Big Food since I was once an integral part of it for many years.
I served at a Lidl branch in Norway, which is part of the prominent German discount supermarket franchise. I was then dispatched to Germany to gain insights into operating with key vendors such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and Danone.
I discovered methods for producing food with minimal costs and understood how tactics like advertising and loss-leader pricing—where items are intentionally priced below cost to draw shoppers—influenced customer attraction strategies.
Sodas, frozen pizzas, ready-made meals, ice cream, candies, and alcoholic drinks topped the sales charts—items I was aware weren't beneficial for health. Innocently, I attempted to introduce healthier choices into our inventory. However, my German managers mocked this idea, insisting such items would not be popular. They turned out to be correct. Inexpensive, high-calorie junk foods consistently outsold pricier, nutrient-rich, and wholesome alternatives.
Following three years there, I departed, feeling disillusioned with what I witnessed backstage at Lidl and similar retail giants. The sector seemed unwilling to shoulder any accountability for consumers' well-being. Every action these corporations took was geared towards cynically boosting sales figures.
The items, prices, multi-purchase discounts, as well as the positioning of goods both within the store and on the racks were strategically set up to persuade customers into purchasing edibles detrimental to their wellbeing.
I chose to retaliate by launching my own supermarket chain in my home country of Sweden, focusing on stores that would not stock heavily processed items but rather promote genuine, locally sourced, and organic foods.

Boasting over 200 prohibited substances including additives, ingredients, and raw materials, our inaugural store opened in June 2015 in Stockholm, soon followed by an additional three locations. Customers embraced us because they knew every product met strict health standards and was confirmed to be genuine, nutritious fare prior to being placed on our shelves.
The established supermarkets tried to stop us, using every dirty trick they could. When we looked for more premises to expand, a local estate agent said he’d been warned off doing business with us by one of the big chains.
Even so, we attained profitability in half of our four outlets over a brief period—only to have the Covid pandemic obliterate our revenue instantly and drive us into insolvency.
However, I remained resolute in continuing my crusade against Big Food and thus changed career paths, broadening my expertise to become a nutrition coach with the aim of encouraging healthier dietary habits.
For large corporations, the appeal of highly processed foods lies in their extended shelf life, minimal production expenses, and consistent manufacturing outcomes. In essence, these imitation foods appear flawless, maintain uniform flavor each time, and are offered at significantly lower prices compared to genuine products.
These are intended to boost sales and maximize profits through encouraging excessive consumption.
However, these products result from industrial processes where raw materials are dismantled at a molecular level and subsequently rearranged to achieve the precise characteristics desired regarding texture, flavor, and visual appeal.
Frequently, ultra-processed foods include additives like preservatives, flavor boosters, colorants, and artificial sweeteners. These items tend to have high caloric content but offer minimal nutritional value.
If frequently eaten in significant amounts, these foods may lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and various long-term health issues.
These products are also crafted by the neuroscientists, chemists, and other scientists working for major food companies to be highly addictive.
While developing new products, they utilize MRI scans to analyze how the brain's reward centers react to various mixtures of salty, sweet, and fatty elements, aiming to enhance addiction potential. In the laboratory, these additives are mixed together to produce counterfeit food items that consumers will find almost impossible to resist.
It comes as a surprise to learn that much of the information Big Food relies on today was initially researched by Big Tobacco companies decades ago with the aim to understand and enhance the addictive properties of nicotine.
Nowadays, few people dispute that smoking is harmful to your health. However, for many years, tobacco companies strongly rejected this idea. Similarly, large food corporations are defending their interests even though numerous studies have shown the significant health dangers associated with highly processed artificial foods.
Previously, tobacco held the top position as the primary contributor to lifestyle-related illnesses and early mortality. However, ultra-processed foods have assumed this unfortunate number one ranking. Approximately 11 million fatalities occur annually due to poor dietary choices, whereas around 8 million deaths can be attributed to smoking.
The globe is grappling with significant issues related to dietary practices and well-being. Large food corporations aim to discard our personal beliefs about nutrition, striving to convince us that their items are the optimal choices for us.
It attempts to deceive us with absurd health assertions.
I remember coming across a granola brand that advertised 'no sugar added' on the front label, but upon turning to the back, it turned out that the product contained nearly 25 percent sugar. The sole purpose behind such health assertions is undoubtedly to increase sales.
My general guideline is to steer clear of any food items that advertise health benefits on their packaging. When statements like 'rich in fiber' or 'Y grams of protein' catch your eye, it usually indicates an effort to divert attention away from the item’s low-quality nutrition or excessive calories. Truly wholesome foods do not require such assertions.
These situations make consumers more doubtful about how to maintain a healthy diet, leading them to seek guidance from 'research-backed' studies. However, such research is frequently funded or created by large food corporations.
Consider Coca-Cola, which has adopted a marketing strategy aimed at shifting responsibility away from its beverages onto the lifestyles chosen by its customers.
It came to light that they had enlisted several prominent scientists to author articles in medical journals, participate in conferences, and create social media content aimed at influencing public perception towards believing that increasing physical activity is key to combating obesity instead of reducing sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Coca-Cola isn’t the only company engaging in such practices.

In 2015, Monsanto—a major player in the food industry now under Bayer’s ownership—was alleged to have tried influencing scientists to portray its products in a better way.
In 2022, it came to light that the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the foremost U.S. organization for dietitians and nutritionists, received multiple million-dollar sponsorships from companies such as Nestlé, PepsiCo, Hershey, Kellogg’s, and General Mills—a major producer that includes Haagen-Dazs ice cream in its lineup.
These firms were financing bogus studies to counter negative feedback and enhance product sales. Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, the academy had minimized the risks associated with sugar and processed foods in their recommendations.
When conducting research, it’s essential to critically evaluate any data claimed to be scientifically grounded. If you encounter assertions that downplay the dangers of ultra-processed foods, consider questioning the source of the study’s financing and identifying potential beneficiaries of such messaging.
A similar cautious stance is needed when dealing with concerns over bacteria or toxins in both natural and organic foods, as these issues tend to disproportionately favor large corporations in the food industry.
The reports of salmonella outbreaks in chickens or pesticide residues on vegetables make me uneasy because they bolster the argument for opting for the safer, more conveniently packaged, and longer-lasting choices provided by large food corporations.
Environmental contaminants found in fish and other organic food items are frequently cited as grounds for opting for commercially manufactured options instead, pushing us farther away from nature-based, wholesome dietary choices.
The reality is that large food companies do not wish to see you purchasing high-quality, locally sourced ingredients to prepare meals for your family. Instead, they prefer you lounging on the couch with an endless stream of chips and soda.
They understand precisely how stressed parents are feeling, and they have figured out which triggers to use to increase our likelihood of giving in to temptations.
This is precisely why many marketing campaigns focus on portraying shared relaxation after a busy workweek—such as munching snacks while watching TV—as 'quality' family bonding time. Contented households are depicted enjoying chips, sodas, pizzas, and various other highly processed foods together.
Large corporations have capitalized on our need for relaxation by establishing a cultural tradition where every Friday evening involves an abundance of snacks and fast food. Alarmingly, our children swiftly adopt this habit as well.
- Based on "Unprocessed Your Diet In 30 Days" by Johannes Cullberg, available now through Little Brown Book Group at £16.99. You can purchase a copy for £15.29 (offer valid until 08/02/25), including free shipping within the UK when you spend over £25, by visiting mailshop.co.uk/books or calling 020 3176 2937.
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