Newsletter Appendix C: How much did we spend on ultra-processed foods (UPF) in 2023?
The last of the appendices for now
In the area of new research obsessions (food and food systems), this appendix is about a specific pet topic: ultra-processed foods, or UPF. In 2021, I included a new category of analysis in our food spending data: ultra-processed foods. It wasn’t a perfect science because when we designed the spreadsheet way back in 2019, UPF wasn’t on my radar, and we didn’t specifically separate out UPF items. When I decided I wanted to see how much we were spending on UPF, and if it was decreasing, I ended up pulling out the categories that you see in Table 1. The attempt to reduce UPF consumption continued in 2023 (I wrote about it here; I also wrote about why I don’t like UPF here).
For the 2023 numbers, there are a few things that stand out. One, we have aged out of toddler snacks! All those various puffs and bars and yoghurt melts that you find in the baby food aisle? Done. Didn’t buy them at all in 2023. Hooray! That saved a pretty penny.
Two, we didn’t buy any protein bars. For four years we had been buying them primarily for my husband’s breakfasts, but I guess I had been banging on enough about UPF that he was willing to make a gradual switch. He started eating toast or yoghurt, fruit, and nuts for breakfast, and we farewelled the protein bars.
Three, we didn’t buy very many chicken tenders or nuggets. I bought dino nuggets twice and that’s what accounted for the $15.98. I was very put off by the things I’d read about chicken farming in The Meat Racket by Christopher Leonard and Big Chicken by Maryn McKenna, and tried to avoid industrially produced chickens where I could. Most of the chicken we’ve been consuming for the past couple of years have been pasture raised and tastier chickens from Pasturebird. One very exciting development for 2024 is that Pasturebird now sells ground chicken so I can make my own chicken nuggets without having to grind my own meat.
Four, chocolate expenditure went way, way up. This was mainly because we bought a lot more at See’s, which makes chocolate that tastes a lot better than most supermarket chocolate available here. In 2023, we spent $126.48 at See’s, which was about six times more than it had been in previous years (we spent only $14.49 at See’s in 2022).
Generally speaking, UPF expenditure went down. We spent less on snacky things like chips and biscuits (though we never bought that many of them to begin with), and less on frozen foods like chicken tenders, fish fingers, and frozen pizza. The main UPF that we bought (and I don’t see this particular one changing that much into the future) is boxed mac’n’cheese. It’s a good back-up to have in the cupboards.
So it seems that my move towards reducing UPF is quantifiably working, and you actually can see it reflected in our spending figures. I’m doubtful we will ever get our UPF consumption down to zero because that seems quite unrealistic, especially when you have two kids, but considering that around 57 per cent of the UK diet comprises UPF and 60 per cent of caloric intake is from UPF in the US, we aren’t doing too badly.
For more information on UPF, I highly recommend the book Ultra-Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken (Yes, again. This is about the fourth time I’ve mentioned this book on Substack now) and Pandora’s Lunchbox by Melanie Warner. I would also recommend Chris Van Tulleken’s podcast on the BBC, A Thorough Examination, where series one was all about UPF. NPR also had a podcast about UPF and how to avoid them.
The goal for 2024 is to continue the quest to reduce UPFs, and I’m hopeful that this is going to be the year of delicious homemade chicken nuggets. The future is bright.