On Ultra-Processed Content
Original excerpt
When I visited London last month, a large marketing push was underway for the paperback edition of Chris van Tulleken’s UK bestseller, _Ultra-Processed People_: _Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food…and Why Can’t We Stop?_ It seemed to be prominently displayed in every bookstore I visited, and, as you might imagine, I visited a lot of bookstores.
Unable to ignore it, I eventually took a closer look and learned more about the central villain of van Tulleken’s treatise: _ultra-processed food_, a term coined in 2009 as part of a new food classification system, and inspired by Michael Pollan’s concept of “edible food-like substances.”
Ultra-processed foods, at their most damaging extreme, are…
Frequently asked questions
What is "On Ultra-Processed Content" about?
This article by Cal Newport is part of the Cal Newport reading list on Burn 451, covering deep work · slow productivity.
Who wrote "On Ultra-Processed Content"?
This piece is part of the Cal Newport vault on Burn 451, covering deep work · slow productivity. The original author is attributed at the source link.
How can I read more content from Cal Newport?
The complete Cal Newport reading list is available at burn451.cloud/vault/cal-newport. Each article includes an AI-generated summary so you can decide what to read in seconds. Connect the Burn 451 MCP server to Claude or Cursor to query all Cal Newport articles as live AI context.
Can I use "On Ultra-Processed Content" with Claude or Cursor?
Yes. Install the burn-mcp-server npm package and connect it to Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or Cursor. Once connected, your AI can search and reference this article and the full Cal Newport vault in real time — no manual copy-paste required.
26 more articles in this vault.
Import the full Cal Newport vault to Burn 451 and build your own knowledge base.
Content attributed to the original author. Burn 451 curates publicly available writing as a reading index. For removal requests, contact @hawking520.