Processed Food

Hi everybody! I’d like to talk about processed food and its effect on people and the society. It’s a
fact that today we have become busier than ever and that the world is changing so quickly around us.
Today, many women have jobs outside their houses, so they don’t have enough time to prepare fresh
meals. The most suitable option for busy people or working women is to depend on ready-made foods
or processed foods. Truly, these foods have given a chance for women to work without fearing about
feeding their families. However, these foods have dangerous effects.

Let’s know what a processed food is. It is a food item that has had a series of mechanical or
chemical operations performed on it to change or preserve it. processed foods include canned and
frozen foods such as frozen chicken strips, frozen pizzas, instant macaroni, canned jam, canned beans,
frozen fruits and popcorn. These have become a regular part of our diet. They are changed in some way
during preparation to make them more suitable and more delicious for consumers. They contain
artificial colors, flavors and additives which are linked to an increased risk of cancer.

Processed foods may have some advantages such as being easy to carry and prepare every where
so they can be used when families go camping or making adventure to a far place where there are no
restaurants. Also, they are the most suitable option for working women who have long working hours
and who are unable to cook meals for their families.

On the other hand, processed foods affect people’s health negatively and make them less
productive. For example, many nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, minerals and fibers are lost during
processing the food. Therefore, people who eat these foods largely, will not have enough energy and
their bodies will not grow well so they will feel tired and become less productive. Another risk is that
most processed foods contain a high amount of calories from carbohydrates and fat so they increase
cholesterol, cause obesity and lead to many diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood
pressure. The third risk is that processed foods contain many additives to have a special flavor. Some of
these additives are dangerous chemicals that may lead to cancer. The final risk is that processed foods
may include too much sugar, salt or fat and these ingredients may cause diabetes and heart diseases.

Socially, processed foods may lead to a high rate of divorce. When working women depend largely
on them and don’t cook fresh meals for their husbands, their husbands will become very angry and they
will ask them to leave their jobs to care for their house, but women will refuse and finally they will get
divorced.
 To sum up, processed foods have many negative effects on people’s health, and they decrease
people’s productivity and increase divorce rate. Therefore, we should only eat processed foods when
necessary. We should remember that, ‘’ Eating an apple a day keeps the doctor away.’’