I enjoyed reading your take on Canned laughter and a critique of the dialog I had with Anna Zeide on my blog. You asked for comments so here are a few counterpoints. First, most commentaries urge us to avoid processed food without making the distinction of avoiding ultra-processed food. I appear to be not the only one engaging in bait-and-switch. I have real problems with the classification of ultra-processed foods, though, as the concept entails almost all pre-packaged foods that can be found in a modern supermarket. Ultra-processed foods are described as those containing “ingredients like added sugars, saturated fats and high amounts of sodium,” but also include those “often full of preservatives and artificial ingredients that might not be best for you and your family.” For example, the definition you site and the recent study highlighting the dangers of ultra-processed food groups both of these categories together. I call the first group junk food and the second convenience food. Junk food includes ice cream, cakes, cookies, sodas and salted snacks. Convenience foods classed as ultra-processed include mass-produced breads, ready-to-eat foods, meat-and-chicken extracts, and instant sauces and soups. In other words, almost any product that could make it easier for a disabled person to maintain autonomy by preparing their own meals or a single parent working minimum wage jobs trying to keep food on the table for their kids are ultra-processed. By these guidelines almost all sandwiches made in America are also ultra-processed foods. I will not defend consumption of large amounts of junk food, but to lump it together with convenience foods is naïve at best and misleading at worst. Not all processed foods are junk, and not all junk foods are processed.