> Something that has been mushed up from its original form to the point of being unrecognizable
So it does include flour and pasta?
Edit: olive oil and butter would also seem to fit the bill.
So it does include flour and pasta?
Edit: olive oil and butter would also seem to fit the bill.
Olive oil is hugely controversial. Don't expect an answer on that.
Processing foods tends to remove the stuff which is good for you. That's why "whole" grain is advocated. You would do even better to selectively eat the wheat germ! So let me make the controversial but empirically true statement that it's possible to make a food more healthy by processing it. The reason processed foods are bad is because of our taste bud and business incentives.
That's why it's extremely problematic to focus on food processing, as opposed to an underlying nutrient understanding. The first thing that goes when we process foods is the fiber, and this is missing nutrient number 1 in the American diet.
As long we lack an ability to talk about the truly root issues with diet, reducing processed foods will do nothing (given sufficient time). Companies will figure out a way to call something unprocessed, but still give the same bad composition of nutrients.
And there's always the anti-fat faction. It's also a high calorie-density food. Like many of these topics, some people will argue that calorie density is irrelevant, but other people will disagree with them.
One of the problem with processed food is that it allows large quantities, which often means lower quality. Also, you don't see what it's actually being made of.
For example, in the olives article, it cited an instance of sub-standard, damaged olives being used to make olive oil
Yes, it does.
>Edit: olive oil and butter would also seem to fit the bill.
Indeed they would, unless you're making them yourself, or at least have an inkling of how, where, and by whom they were made.