Because these diseases are degenerative over time, the food and drink industry has been able to argue for decades that its UPFs are fine in moderation. The litigation strategy is cynical but effective and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, is damning. In many countries, including the UK, US and Australia, UPFs have become staples, and make up half the average diet. As with fossil fuels and tobacco, the problem is existential for the food industry. Farm subsidies and exports of food surplus have been a plank in US geopolitical strategy since the end of the second world war.