But I guess it's kinda obvious that there are levels of processing and IDK what impossible is doing. But I'm curious.
I see. Here's what I understand, but can't substantiate or explain the mechanics myself:
* Eating foods with less processing is one of the strongest consensuses in nutrition - almost universal, in a field where there is a lot of uncertainty.
* Processing is a matter of degree. From the OP (and based on it, I'd guess that Impossible food is ultra-processed, hummus somewhere between minimally processed and processed, depending on the hummus):
Ultra-processed: Foods with additives or few whole food ingredients; includes most packaged snacks, frozen meals, granola bars, soda, and cereal.
Processed foods: “Foods such as canned fish, vegetables and artisanal cheeses, which are manufactured by adding salt, sugar, oil, or other processed culinary ingredients to minimally processed foods.”
Processed culinary ingredients: Table sugar, oils, fats, and salt.
Minimally processed foods: Frozen fruit or vegetables, breads with just a few ingredients, milk, canned beans.
* Why does processing matter? Essential question and I don't know much of the answer, but part of it is that context matters: The effects of foods relies on much more than individual nutrients in the food, but what they are contained in (obvious when you think about it: you couldn't ingest a pile of carbon, etc.). But what are the factors that matter and why? No idea. I'd love to learn about it.
The best source I've found, which examines it on a basic level, recommended several years ago by a leading nutritional expert, is the Brazillian government's dietary recommendations (note these are from 2015):
https://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/dietary_guideline...
Nixtmalized corn is a good example here, too.