In June 2025, I was invited to teach at the annual summer school organised by Norway’s National Research School in Nutrition (NutriNOR) that took place in Bergen. This year’s overarching theme was ‘food processing’ and the three-day summer school included lectures and workshops on the topic by experts from a variety of fields such as engineering, nutrition, consumer science, and sociology. I was invited to speak about the social and gendered impacts of consuming (fewer) ultra processed foods.

The workshop began with a thought experiment: what would a world without highly processed food look like? Would everyone eat better? Would some benefit more than others? How would this differ between Global South and Global North contexts? This was followed by an engaging discussion with the audience.

The consequent lecture went on to explore the various roles processed foods play in our lives, why women—even in progressive countries like Norway and the Netherlands—continue to spend more time in the kitchen than men, how race and class shape dietary patterns, and what it might take to eat better and depend less on highly processed foods while also challenging traditional gender roles tied to foodwork.