The world’s largest review, published last month, found that UPFs are linked to harm in every major organ system of the human body and poses a seismic threat to global health. They are associated with an increased risk of a dozen health conditions, including cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression, heart disease and cognitive decline.

That review also found that global corporations, not individual choices, are driving the rise of UPF. UPF is a leading cause of the “chronic disease pandemic” linked to diet, with food companies putting profit above all else, the authors said.