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Laura A. Schmidt PhD

@drlauraschmidt.bsky.social
98 followers 31 following 44 posts

I lead the UCSF Food Policy Lab, where we study ultraprocessed foods as a 21st-century vector of chronic disease. I'm new to Bluesky--please follow!

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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Center to End Corporate Harm @c2ech.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Very excited to announce our paper on corporate vectors of chronic disease - and what can be done about it - published in NEJM! Congrats to all our authors including @nickchartres.bsky.social @feralyogi.bsky.social @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social @traceywoodruff.bsky.social DOI: 10.1056/NEJMms2507028
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Just a few commercial products, including tobacco, alcohol and #ultraprocessedfoods, account for a very large proportion of deaths globally. Read our piece on how researchers can study health-harming corporations just like other vectors for disease, to protect health. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
nejm.org
Corporate Vectors of Chronic Disease — Using Internal Industry Documents to Craft Counterstrategies | NEJM
Corporations that make and market health-harming products are a primary vector for the global increase in mortality related to noncommunicable diseases. Research using internal industry documents c...
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
What might the future hold for the 22 states that have removed soda and ultra-processed foods from their SNAP (food stamps) programs? Here's what the research says to expect. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Removing Unhealthy Foods From SNAP
This Viewpoint summarizes arguments for and against the Make America Healthy Again strategy calling for the restriction of unhealthy foods from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); su...
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Ben Chrisinger @bchrisinger.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Out today in @jama.com : @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social and I weigh the merits of nutritional SNAP restrictions. While we didn't agree on restriction overall, we were united in our concern about broader changes to SNAP that will undermine the program. 🛟 🥗 🩺
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Center to End Corporate Harm @c2ech.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Have you received a letter from "Dr. B.S."? One scientist decided to investigate and what he found may shed light on another form of corporate influence. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/s...
nytimes.com
The Editor Got a Letter From ‘Dr. B.S.’ So Did a Lot of Other Editors.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
As I told the @nytimes.com, "it's not inevitable." It's not inevitable that ultraprocessed food (UPF) companies must dominate our food supply, harming our health. We simply apply our existing tobacco control regulations to UPF. We have the tools to fix this. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/w...
nytimes.com
Scientists Call for Global Shift Away From Ultraprocessed Foods
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Next step: Direct studies of the mechanisms. Is it the lack of fiber, a larger dose of sugar, slow transit time or chemical additives that make liquid sugar worse for health?
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
While ultraprocessed food companies pursue profits at the cost of making populations obese, pharmaceutical companies pursue profits with drugs promising to make the same people thin. Why not make money off both sides of the world's obesity crisis?
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
I found the study discussed here to be quite compelling, with large samples from different regions of the world. The next step is to sort out why liquid sugar is worse for health: No fiber? Too easy to overconsume? Short transit time in the gut? Or all of the above?
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
As more people experience an end to craving and "food noise" from taking GLP-1s, we may see a greater willingness to accept that #ultraprocessedfoods are addictive, like alcohol and tobacco.
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Issues in Science and Technology @issuesinst.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
New GLP-1 drugs have the potential to change “the persistent, widespread cultural assumption that obesity is a problem of individuals rather than a societal problem of the food system.” @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social & Luc Hagenaars write: issues.org/ozempic-era-...
issues.org
The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems
A new class of medications that people are taking to control their weight could help change how we think about obesity.
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Dimitri Abrahamsson @dimiabrams.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Excellent speech by @traceywoodruff.bsky.social If the administration is serious about making America healthy they need to fund environmental research. It is science fiction to think that you can cut 55% of EPA’s budget and expect people’s health to improve. www.youtube.com/live/3l-bOsI...
youtube.com
Toxic Priorities: How Trump’s EPA Puts Polluters Over People
YouTube video by Senate Environment & Public Works Committee
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Now we know that if a study is funded by the meat industry, it is 4 times more likely to conclude that red meat has positive or benign effects on cardiovascular disease risk. NIH should fund nutrition scientists so they can stop working for the food industry. ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S000...
ajcn.nutrition.org
Industry study sponsorship and conflicts of interest on the effect of unprocessed red meat on cardiovascular disease risk: a systematic review of clinical trials
Experimental research on the link between unprocessed red meat and cardiovascular disease risk is inconsistent and may differ according to the financial interests of red meat industry sponsors.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Please join me for this free, online webinar. I will be sharing new results from my research using the @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social library on the tobacco industry's role in developing #ultraprocessedfoods. May 22, 2025 9am - 10am PT | 12pm - 1pm ET Zoom (virtual event) lnkd.in/eEY-4PWF
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
I encourage everyone to join me at the UCSF Global Oral Health Symposium, held for free and online. I will be speaking about recent developments in the #sodatax debate and this recent publication in @jama.com: lnkd.in/gd2_Z5bU. @ahascience.bsky.social @americanheart.bsky.social
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Read my new piece in @jama.com on how Coca-Cola and Pepsi plan to sue the small City of San Cruz because voters had the audacity to pass a #sodatax to pay for health initiatives. Courageous officials in this small city are preparing to stand up to the corporate bully. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
The Changing Landscape of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes
This Viewpoint discusses how sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in small US cities have provided an example for how to enact such policy changes elsewhere, which could help improve population health.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Read my new piece on how GLP-1 agonist medications could fundamentally shift the scientific paradigm for obesity to more closely align with models of tobacco and alcohol addiction, written for the @nationalacademies.org @issuesinst.bsky.social #obesity #ozempic #addiction issues.org/ozempic-era-...
issues.org
The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems
A new class of medications that people are taking to control their weight could help change how we think about obesity.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Looking forward to this free webinar on what's going on with #ultraprocessedfoods in California.
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Kevin Hall @kevinh-phd.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Thanks to @jaketapper.bsky.social for inviting me on his show yesterday! www.cnn.com/2025/04/17/h...
cnn.com
Top researcher quits NIH, citing censorship under RFK Jr. | CNN
Dr. Kevin Hall joins The Lead
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
The New Tobacco? A Discussion about Ultra-Processed Foods Mon 5/5 at 12pm You are welcome to join a free online webinar hosted by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social on Monday, May 5 at 12p PT. Gain insight into #processedfoods as the new tobacco. Register today: lnkd.in/gcQ6-GwR #foodpolicy #obesity
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
My lab is in mourning today about Kevin Hall's early retirement from NIH. As an addiction scientist, it especially troubles me to hear that he felt forced to adhere to preconceived ideas about food addiction. That just isn't how science is done. edition.cnn.com/2025/04/16/h...
edition.cnn.com
Top NIH nutrition researcher studying ultraprocessed foods departs, citing censorship under Kennedy | CNN
When President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, one group of health researchers was cautiously optimistic that their cause...
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
This is another big loss at NIH. He explains why in the thread below. Our recent conversation about what we should eat erictopol.substack.com/p/kevin-hall...
erictopol.substack.com
Kevin Hall: What Should We Eat?
Listen now (48 mins) | Insights from the research by a leading scientist in nutrition and metabolism
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
‪I encourage everyone to read Murray Carpenter's new book on Coca-Cola's disinformation campaign to muddle nutrition science. He tells my story of the San Francisco soda tax. He will be reading from his book at the Ferry Building this Sunday at 2. @murray-journo.bsky.social new @mitpress.bsky.social
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Joanne Spetz @joannespetz.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
New paper - Medicaid "unwinding" associated with net decrease in buprenorphine prescribing for opioid use disorder (some offset from commercial insurance). Some state policies mitigated this negative impact. Hats off to @drsumedhagupta.bsky.social for this work! jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Trends in Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
This cross-sectional study examines the association between Medicaid unwinding and dispensing of prescription buprenorphine, overall and by payment sources nationally and by state.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
This wonderful profile of Marion Nestle at @newyorkuniversity.bsky.social by @nytimes.com captures her boundless energy and practical approach nutrition through an omnivorous whole foods diet. Worth a read! www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/w...
nytimes.com
The Nutritionist Marion Nestle Meets Her Moment, At 88
After five decades in the field of nutrition, Dr. Marion Nestle thought she had seen it all. Then came “Make America Healthy Again.”
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Robert H. Lustig, MD, MSL @robertlustigmd.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
When you destroy fiber, it can't act on your behalf. Consider apple versus apple sauce versus apple juice: youtu.be/00CYtZ366do?...
youtu.be
Robert Lustig: Apple Juice Spikes Glucose Fastest, Apple Puree Next, but Whole Apple is the Safest
YouTube video by Emery Pharma
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
UCSF Industry Documents Library @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
It's Document Drop Day! 🎉 We added over 220K new Teva and Allergan documents and 200K Juul Labs documents to the IDL today. Read more about the new documents and get the latest education and research updates in our monthly newsletter: conta.cc/3RmmUSa #industrydocuments #library
conta.cc
March 2025 Updates - Over 400K new documents added!
Email from UCSF Industry Documents Library         Collection Updates Opioid Industry Documents Archive Teva and Allergan Documents OIDA staff added over 220,000 documents to the Teva and Allergan
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
UCSF Industry Documents Library @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
🚨 Researching Juul Labs & the North Carolina settlement? UNC Libraries has you covered! Their research guide dives into the #Juul Labs Collection’s origins, industry practices, public health impacts, and more. Check it out: guides.lib.unc.edu/juul #PublicHealth #Research @unclibrary.bsky.social
guides.lib.unc.edu
LibGuides: Juul Labs Documents Collection for North Carolina: Home
This guide provides searching assistance and key information for the NC JUUL documents database.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
The target marketing of #ultraprocessedfoods to toddlers is a strategy that many of today's food corporations (Kraft, Nabisco, General Foods) learned during decades of ownership by tobacco companies--instill brand loyalty as young as possible. @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
theguardian.com
Ultra-processed babies: are toddler snacks one of the great food scandals of our time?
For time-poor parents, straws, sticks, pouches and powders can seem like a quick, convenient and even healthy option. But these oversweetened, mushy foods are creating a generation of choosy consumers...
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
I am among > 90 scientists boycotting a U Copenhagen study designed to "rethink" #ultraprocessedfoods. The foundation of Novo Nordisk (maker of #ozempic) is funding these researchers, who have minimized health concerns about these foods. @melissamialon.bsky.social www.tjekdet.dk/indsigt/dans...
tjekdet.dk
Dansk forskningsprojekt støttet af Novo Nordisk Fonden får kritik af eksperter verden over
Et nyt dansk forskningsprojekt på Københavns Universitet om ultraforarbejdede fødevarer, har vist sig at være så kontroversielt, at flere end 90 eksperter verden i et åbent brev har kritiseret det.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
This systems analysis holds keys to how America might exit its current trajectory of rising #obesity and #chronicdisease rates. Our inability to prevent these problems comes down to a societal bias towards blaming individuals rather than the #ultraprocessed #foodindustry. #weightstigma
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Food insecurity is a major risk factor for cardiometabolic disease. Food security interventions should focus on diet quality and nutrition security.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
A Danish investigative journalist has exposed Novo Nordisk's (makers of #Ozempic) efforts to fund research that sows doubt about the Nova classification defining #ultraprocessedfoods. This is a familiar pattern with health-harming industries, when science threatens their commercial interests.
information.dk
Kontroversiel fedmeforsker med bånd til fødevareindustrien står bag kritiseret Novo Nordisk-projekt
Arne Astrup, som igennem hele sin karriere har haft tætte bånd til fødevareindustrien og stadig arbejder for slikproducenten Ferrero, er idémanden bag det udskældte forskningsprojekt Nova 2.0, som 90 ...
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
There is so much great innovation going on at the state level, spurred on by growing recognition that #ultraprocessedfoods harm kids. The Texas Senate just passed a bill that will put PE back in schools and getting toxic chemicals out of school meals. Way to go, Texas! @texassenategop.bsky.social
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
This policy is moving us in the wrong direction. We need more robust local food systems to get fresh fruit and vegetables into food deserts. This is essential for addressing the nation's nutrition security crisis because ~2/3 of food-insecure Americans live in a USDA-designated food desert. #food
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Joanne Spetz @joannespetz.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
I don't think canceling food bank and school lunch programs designed to bring health, local foods to these essential services is very MAHA, do you? www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
politico.com
USDA cancels $1B in local food purchasing for schools, food banks
States have been notified that they will not receive 2025 funding for schools to buy food from nearby farms.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
An informative webinar, free to all, led by my colleague, Rob Lustig. Please join!
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
This is a great way for researchers and members of the general public to gain access to the world's largest digital archive of documents on health-harming industries. It's easy to use and remarkably informative to pull back the veil.
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Center for Science in the Public Interest @cspinet.org · 11/03/2025
Good news! The Predatory Marketing Prevention Act just passed through committee this morning. Following this, the bill will get put on an active list and get voted on by the Senate. Props to @zellnor.bsky.social and Asm. Karines Reyes for making moves to protect New York kids! 👏👏
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
🪖 🇺🇸 🌎 🇺🇦 @rjmrim.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
He doesn't care #food born illnesses have been increasing; Experts Warn of #PublicHealth Risks as the #Trump Administration Eliminates 2 Critical #FoodSafety Committees #health #GroceryStore #family #shopping #America #maga www.foodandwine.com/trump-admini...
foodandwine.com
The Trump Administration Eliminated 2 Critical Food Safety Committees — Is Your Dinner Now at Risk?
The Trump administration shut down two critical food safety committees, cutting off expert advice to the USDA, FDA, and CDC. The panels, which included top scientists and researchers, were working on ...
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Susan Lamontagne @slamont.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
The new administration is saying one thing and doing another. That matters, especially when it comes to health.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
My research, published in @bmj.com, shows that food and beverage companies learned how to target market to children while they were owned by the tobacco giants, RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris. Read: www.bmj.com/content/364/... and the @nytimes.com piece on the study: www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/h...
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
AHA Science @ahascience.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
1 in 3 US adults have at least three components of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a disorder made up of heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes & obesity. Collaboration across specialties can improve outcomes. spr.ly/6048uP0fo 📷
CKD Prevalence & Heart Disease & Stroke Mortality
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Unfortunately, conflicts of interest abound in #nutrition science, leading to biased results in whole bodies of evidence. I recently gave a paper on this topic at the @health.nationalacademies.org
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
STAT @statnews.com · 10/03/2025
Mayo Clinic's partnership with the dairy industry is drawing criticism for its potential to undermine its credibility.
buff.ly
Mayo Clinic’s partnership with dairy poses conflict of interest, critics say
Mayo Clinic's partnership with the dairy industry is drawing criticism for its potential to undermine its credibility.
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
From women scientists at the University of California to NIH and NSF: Please keep our labs open so we can continue life-saving research. @altnih4science.bsky.social @statnews.com @marchforsciencemn.bsky.social
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Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Center for Science in the Public Interest @cspinet.org · 26/02/2025
Come join us! We'll be discussing the FDA’s outlook for food chemical safety, as well as how New York’s Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act takes critical steps to protect us against dangerous chemicals. We hope to see you there! Register for free here: act.cspinet.org/a/red-3-what...
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Laura A. Schmidt PhD @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Glad to see that states are acting on this. I'm currently helping our state health department respond to @governor.ca.gov executive order on #ultraprocessedfoods
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