From Inside ADM’s $3 billion plan to make food taste better by Crain’s Chicago.

“After a decade helping pull fat, sugar and salt out of food, ADM scientists now are working to add fiber, protein and nutrients. The trick is to avoid delivering bland or unpalatable products, which is where Wild Flavors comes in.

“ ‘We can make it healthy but what we are really focusing on is also making it tasty,’ said Mark Matlock, the Chicago-based company’s senior vice president for research. ‘Something kids will come back for a second one, or third one. If they consume it on Monday, will they also consume it on Tuesday?'”

I’m fully convinced that a majority of our health problems are related to, if not somewhat caused by, our deviance from eating real food, and instead choosing processed crap that tricks us into thinking it tastes good.

For more info on chemical additives and the craziness that is “food science” (like, literally people get paid to make Doritos crunchier, and there’s a reason Subways always smell the same) read Fast Food Nation.

Note: We are in no way above eating processed food. Cheez-its and Jack’s pizzas are mainstays in the Casper/Miltner home, and sometimes late-night Taco Bell tastes like the most delicious thing in the world. But for a lot of people, processed, packaged and fast food make up the majority of their diet. And, in a lot of cases that’s about affordability and the effed-up-ness that are government food subsidies, which is a whole other rant we’ll get into another time, but you can read The Omnivore’s Dilemma or watch Food, Inc. if you’re interested.

< / rant>