Research has shown that for every 10% of your diet that comes from ultra-processed food, your risk of death goes up by 14%. Yet 60% of American diets are made up of ultra-processed food. And though the government tells us to eat more fruits and vegetables, existing food policy subsidizes thousands of acres of corn, soy, and wheat that are turned into processed junk food, while only 2% of our farmland is used to grow fruits and vegetables. In fact, if everybody ate the government-recommended amounts of vegetables and fruits, there actually wouldn’t be enough to go around.
Part of what is driving these issues is that there is a major monopoly when it comes to seeds. Just a handful of companies control the majority of what and how crops are grown. We have to change our agricultural policies.
Dr. Hyman dives into these topics and more in this mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy. He also outlines the problems and the solutions in his new book, Food Fix. foodfixbook.com
