Webinar: The Engineering and Regulation of Ultraprocessed Foods

As attention turns to the role of ultraprocessed foods, or UPFs, in driving the country’s high chronic disease rates, a recent open-access Milbank Quarterly article described how the design, marketing, and distribution of UPFs mirror those of industrial tobacco products.

On April 13, 2026, The Milbank Quarterly hosted a webinar with the article’s lead author, as well as a national advocate and a state policymaker, to discuss the research, lessons from tobacco prevention and control efforts, and steps to restrict UPFs in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Panelists included: 

• Alan Cohen, ScD, Editor, The Milbank Quarterly (moderator)
• Ashley Gearhardt, PhD, Clinical Science Area Chair and Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan, and lead author of From Tobacco to Ultraprocessed Food: How Industry Engineering Fuels the Epidemic of Preventable Disease
• Brian King, PhD, MPH, Executive Vice President for U.S. Programs, The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and Past Director, FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products
• Andrea Barton Reeves, JD, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Social Services