Cornell Survey Finds 60% of Americans Call Ultraprocessed Foods Harmful, Back Curbs Across Parties
Updated
Updated · Cornell Chronicle · Jun 3
Cornell Survey Finds 60% of Americans Call Ultraprocessed Foods Harmful, Back Curbs Across Parties
3 articles · Updated · Cornell Chronicle · Jun 3
Summary
A Cornell-led survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found more than 60% say ultraprocessed foods are addictive and major drivers of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Nearly 70% viewed the foods as addictive, and respondents rated their health risks below cigarettes but roughly on par with alcohol and above fast food or cannabis.
Support for intervention was broad and bipartisan: more than 80% backed premarket safety testing for laboratory-made food chemicals, while about two-thirds favored warning labels, dye bans, education campaigns and limits on ads to children.
Only 58% said they had heard of ultraprocessed foods and about one-third felt able to explain the term, suggesting a communication gap even as more than 60% expressed distrust of the industry.
The researchers said that mix of public concern, cross-party agreement and rising policy scrutiny could create a tobacco-style opening for stronger regulation and legal action against food companies.