While processed does remove vitamins etc, I’ve never seen any research that links that reduction to health problems.

What exactly do you think aspartame does? I drank aspartame as a child. I still drink aspartame and more recently Splenda all the time. I wouldn’t have linked it any particular health problem I have.

I’ve been trying to expand the organics I eat, but I’ve mostly focused fruits, poultry, and eggs. My current thinking is that locally grown would be preferred choice to organic from the west coast.

“Further I’m not sure there is a strong case that children are particularly harmed by eating “industrial” food. Sure junk food is bad, and it’s connected to the industrial food process, but that’s not the same as establishing real harm to eaters from frozen foods, processed, or even genetically modified food.”

I can vouch personally from the harm “processed food” can do to a body. Processed foods have many additives..including aspartame (in places you wouldn’t expect) and different forms of msg. Add to that the fat content and loss of vitamins from processing, and you have so called “food” with no real nutritive value. After years of terrible health issues/symptoms, I did my own research. I cut out anything msg or aspartame related, added “organic” to my shopping list, and I can tell you honestly that the terrible symptoms all but disappeared. Can you imagine what that type of diet is doing to the bodies of children? I know we can do much better.