Why the ‘big food’ industry is killing us – and how to fight back | Prof. Brian Elbel and Prof. Tim Spector

ZOE Science & Nutrition

ZOE

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Education, Science

4.6 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

👀 Unwrap the truth 👉 Try the new ZOE app Why do we eat what we eat? It might feel like a personal choice, but hidden forces—industry tactics, government policies, and even cutting-edge food science—shape our decisions every day. In this episode, Professor Brian Elbel from NYU and Professor Tim Spector unravel the truth behind our ultra-processed food (UPF) obsession and its alarming impact on global health. Our food system isn't just flawed; it's deliberately engineered. From seductive marketing to strategic supermarket layouts, Brian and Tim reveal the invisible hands guiding us toward unhealthy choices. Learn to spot UPFs in disguise, understand how corporate profits trump public health, and question whether interventions like soda taxes and calorie labeling truly make a difference. But all is not lost. Tim and Brian provide actionable strategies to reclaim control of our health. Discover practical tips for decoding confusing food labels, making healthier choices, and advocating for transformative policies. Tune in to learn how individual awareness and collective action can challenge—and change—a food system that’s designed against us. 🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily 30+ *Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 write timecodes 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks Mentioned in today's episode The corporate capture of the nutrition profession in the USA: the case of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2022) Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake (2019) Relationship between community characteristics and impact of calorie labeling on fast-food purchases Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Zoe Science and Nutrition, where world-leading scientists explain how their research can improve your health.
0:11.0	We like to believe that we choose what to eat.
0:17.0	But in reality, hidden forces push us towards cheap, unhealthy food.
0:22.0	From supermarket shelves to the meals we grab on the go, our food system is built for
0:26.2	profit, not health, and it's making us sick through tactics that we barely notice.
0:32.8	Ultra-processed foods, or UPS, now make up well over half of the average diet.
0:38.3	Design for long shelf life and mass production,
0:41.3	corporations engineer the worst UPS to be irresistible at a high cost.
0:46.3	New research links harmful UPS to obesity, metabolic disease, even early death.
0:52.3	So what's the reason they're everywhere?
0:55.0	And what would it take for us to break free?
0:58.0	Today, Dr. Brian Elbel, a professor of population health and health policy at New York University,
1:05.0	uncovers the hidden forces shaping what's in our food.
1:09.0	He's joined by Professor Tim Specter to reveal how UPFs have quietly taken over our food system
1:14.6	and why they're making us sick.
1:16.6	Tim is one of the world's top 100 most cited scientists,
1:19.6	a professor of epidemiology at King's College London
1:22.6	and my scientific co-founder at Zoe.
1:24.6	By the end of this episode,
1:26.6	you'll have a clearer view of your food
1:28.3	and the system shaping it so you can push back and make smarter choices.
1:37.3	Brian, thank you for joining me today. Glad to be here.
	...

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