Reading comprehension

The German economy shrank unexpectedly in the first three months of this year, marking the second quarter of contraction that is one definition of recession. Data released Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office shows Germany's gross domestic product, or GDP, declined by 0.3% in the period from January to March. This follows a drop of 0.5% in Europe's biggest economy during the last quarter of 2022. Two consecutive quarters of contraction is a common definition of recession, though economists on the euro area business cycle dating committee use a broader set of data, including employment figures. Germany is one of the 20 countries that use the euro currency. Employment in the country rose in the first quarter and inflation has eased, but higher interest rates will keep weighing on spending and investment, said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist for Capital Economics. "Germany has experienced a technical recession and has been by far the worst performer among major eurozone economies over the past two quarters," Palmas said, predicting further weakness ahead. The figures are a blow to the German government, which last month boldly doubled its growth forecast for this year after a feared winter energy crunch failed to materialize. It said the economy would grow by 0.4% — up from a 0.2% expansion predicted in late January — a forecast that may now need to be revised downward. Economists said high inflation hit consumer spending, with prices in April 7.2% higher than a year ago. GDP — the broadest gauge of economic output — reflects the total value of goods and services produced in a country. Some experts question whether the figure alone is a useful indicator of economic prosperity given that it doesn't distinguish between types of spending. As a whole, the eurozone economy scraped out meager growth of 0.1% in the first quarter, according to initial estimates, with inflation eroding people's willingness to spend as their pay fails to keep pace. The U.S. also reported disappointing growth estimates Thursday that kept alive fears of a recession in the world's largest economy.

This morning, while tidying up my office, I found an open box of packaged coconut and chocolate cookies that I'd bought sometime last year. The "use by" date had come and gone more than eight months ago. Curious, I took a small bite. They still tasted pretty darn good. A closer look at the ingredient list revealed some things I've certainly never baked with, including carrageenan and sorbitan tristearate, additives used to do things like thicken, emulsify and preserve the flavor and enhance the texture of food. Welcome to the world of ultra-processed foods – edible products made from manufactured ingredients that have been extracted from foods, processed, then reassembled to create shelf-stable, tasty and convenient meals. "These are foods that are industrial creations," says Allison Sylvetsky, an associate professor in the department of exercise and nutrition at the George Washington Milken Institute School of Public Health. And we're eating a lot of them. Ultra-processed foods currently make up nearly 60% of what the typical adult eats, and nearly 70% of what kids eat. The category includes everything from cookies and sodas to jarred sauces, cereals, packaged breads and frozen meals, even ice creams. You might not realize you're eating one, but look close and you'll see many ingredients you wouldn't find in your kitchen – think bulking agents, hydrolyzed protein isolates, color stabilizers, humectants. They dominate the food supply. And a large and growing body of evidence has consistently linked overconsumption of ultra-processed foods to poor health outcomes. "Four of the top six killers are related to an inadequate diet, which in the U.S. is probably largely due to convenient, safe, inexpensive food that we eat too much of," says Christopher Gardner, the director of nutrition studies at Stanford University, who has spent decades studying the links between diet and chronic disease. "Too much of it leads to obesity and type two diabetes and heart disease and cancer." Gardner says the emergence of ultra-processed foods led to products that were inexpensive and safe to eat for longer periods of time. "But it just went too far." High consumption of ultra-processed foods has been linked to health concerns ranging from increased risk of obesity, hypertension, breast and colorectal cancer to dying prematurely from all causes.