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Our (un)conditional love for ultra-processed food
Infiltration of UPFs in the population’s diet is a systemic condition rooted in big food industries’ interests and globalized industrial food supply.
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Bowl of happiness: For better or worse, instant noodles are a staple in Indonesian households. (The Jakarta Post) (JP/Courtesy of The Jakarta Post)
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here is a special memory associated with cubed-shaped instant noodles, chunks of chicken nugget and chilled rice, to be consumed with gusto during school recess. Those ultra-processed foods (UPF) were the “classic” lunch dishes commonly given to kids in the early 1990s.
Despite their poor nutritional intake, ultra-processed, “instant” foods are practical and economically accessible to more than half of Indonesian parents, who often have busy work schedules. The children may have a big price to pay in the future, though, if they often eat food with lower essential vitamins and minerals. This leaves us with the conundrum: Should we end our hitherto-endless love for UPF?
Piling up in warung (small kiosks) or nicely displayed supermarkets, UPFs have been around for decades, occupying an integral part of society and most of the economy. In a country like Indonesia, people with limited purchasing power tend to rely on low-priced food to survive.
According to Statistics Indonesia, UPF is responsible for 60 percent of the energy intake consumed by our people in 2021. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the consumers come from Greater Jakarta area. Nevertheless, the same report found smaller cities like Sumenep in East Java, Banda Aceh in Special Region of Aceh and Bontang in East Kalimantan are amongst the top-10 highest consumers. It shows the producers have made a big push into the outskirts.
How did this happen? We probably remember how UPF producers in early 1990s seduced young consumers with fun prizes. Let us remember back then when some snacks and chips brands offered redeemable, desirable prizes like an advanced (for that era) game console, if we collected items of their products.
This means, without compulsion, children were persuaded to buy as many products as they could to get a chance to win. Besides this, other striking promotions and advertisements including a witty jingle that unconsciously looped in our minds like a chant and school visits by some UPF milk brands to distribute “free samples”, which were joyfully welcomed by students and even teachers.
Along with the aggressive advertisements and the amusing gifts, UPFs currently hold a soft power to reach the market directly, through the role of influencers. Lately, we see how everyone, including the food vloggers, is competing to taste various flavors of one famous instant-noodle brand.
