Why is it so hard to get rid of ultra-processed foods from our diets? A scarcity of time | Lindsey Smith Taillie

Better food labels are a necessary but insufficient step to improve diets and health

Ding.

The microwave beeped. I grabbed the bowl of bright orange macaroni and cheese and slid it in front of my daughter, alongside an apple and milk, before dashing back to my laptop. My seven-year-old was home sick, and I was frantically attempting the hazardous maneuver all too familiar to post-pandemic parents: working while parenting. As I logged into Zoom, I wondered what my nutrition colleagues would think if they knew that down the hall, my kiddo was eating the verboten: ultra-processed food.