Researchers Launch Fed UP! Campaign as 77% of Americans Back Warning Labels on Ultraprocessed Foods
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jun 3
Researchers Launch Fed UP! Campaign as 77% of Americans Back Warning Labels on Ultraprocessed Foods
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jun 3
Summary
Fed UP! debuted Wednesday as a researcher-led U.S. campaign offering explainers, advocacy tools and 17 AJPH studies aimed at cutting ultraprocessed foods in homes, schools and policy.
New polling in the journal showed broad support for tougher rules: 77% want large package warning labels, up to 70% back banning ads on children’s TV, and up to 87% want premarket safety testing for food chemicals.
The push draws on fresh evidence that higher ultraprocessed-food intake is tied to major health risks, including a nearly 60% higher dementia risk among U.S. adults who ate the most.
Researchers say federal action has lagged despite MAHA promises, while ultraprocessed food companies spent $1.15 billion lobbying from 1999 to 2020 and now dominate nearly 70% of U.S. grocery shelves.
The campaign adds U.S. momentum to a broader scientific drive for warning labels, marketing curbs and other regulations as 53% of adults’ and 62% of children’s calories come from ultraprocessed foods.
Why do our food policies subsidize the same processed ingredients that experts link to addiction and disease?
If food giants used tobacco tactics on kids, what other products in our homes are designed to be addictive?
Are microplastics from processed foods the hidden driver behind the alarming rise in dementia cases?
Tobacco Tactics in the Food Industry: How Ultra-Processed Foods Drive Addiction and Raise Dementia Risk
Overview
A major review published in June 2026 reveals how tobacco companies, like Philip Morris, used their expertise in addiction science and marketing—originally developed for cigarettes—to shape the ultra-processed food (UPF) industry. By acquiring food brands, these companies transferred their knowledge of consumer behavior and product engineering to create foods, such as Lunchables, that are especially appealing to children. The report highlights that UPFs are carefully designed to trigger rapid reward responses in the brain, making them highly addictive. This engineered addictiveness, rooted in tobacco industry tactics, has transformed the modern food landscape and raised serious public health concerns.