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What IS Ultra-Processed Food – More than 73 percent of the US food supply is ultra-processed so it is very important to know what this means. To help customers understand the real value offered by Laurel Urban Farms, it is important to know what ultra processed food (UPF) is and how it is made. Fortunately, The Epoch Times recently did a story on this that I will take from.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are factory-made products built from ingredients you typically wouldn't cook with at home such as emulsifiers, flavor additives, and protein isolates. Base ingredients, such as wheat, are broken down, reengineered, and mixed with additives to create extra tasty, cheap, and long-lasting foods-tied to obesity, heart disease, cancer, and early death.
How are UPFs made? Typically, it starts with raw inputs using cheap commodity crops like corn, wheat, or soy. Next is extracting and refining where grains are stripped down using heat, pressure, and chemicals to remove fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Then, cooking and fortifying with salt and additives. Synthetic nutrients are added. Products like cereals are then shaped by extrusion, puffed, or flaked into shapes under high heat and pressure. Next, flavoring and coating with sugars, oils, flavorings, colors, and preservatives for taste and shelf life. Last comes packaging
where the finished product is poured into bags, etc. and sealed into colorful boxes.
Ingredients Labeling - a few thoughts on reading labels. I once heard Michael Pollan and Joel Salatin say if the product included ingredients you would not find or cook with in your home kitchen then you should leave that product alone. So, what to look for:
- Short, simple ingredient list
- Realistic serving size
- Added sugar less than 10% DV. Be careful here as some products contain different sugars under different names
- No artificial colors or flavors
- No partially hydrogenated oils
- Contains healthy fats
- Whole grains listed before refined
The Epoch Times Aug 27-Sept 2, 2025 pages B6 and B7
Mike and Tally Scully have been loyal customers of our farm for several years now. Recently, they sent me the following as an introduction to their products, farm values, regenerative practices, and ask that I share with my farm customers.
Dear Ben and Beth,
Mike and I enjoy your monthly blog posts very much and we care for you guys as fellow farmers. So much of what you share about the agricultural mindset is what we believe that farming should embody. Like you, our craft hot sauce business model is deeply rooted in environmental sustainability.
In our urban farm raised beds, we use natural products such as earthworm teas, Dr. Earth fertilizers and mushroom composts to enrich the soil, which in turn feed the plants. We companion plant our beds with annuals, herbs and beneficial medicinal plants for beauty and to reduce pest pressure. In our field grown site, we use regenerative practices, interplanting with cover crops in winter followed by allowing cattle into the pasture plot and plant a second proprietary spring/summer cover crop with legumes, smartweed, native grasses, goldenrod, ironweed, verbena, vetch, blue flax, morning glory, etc. to ensure the kind of healthy ecosystem that allows for balance.
We don’t spray our farms with chemicals, instead only spraying inputs like cold-pressed liquid seaweed to keep plants strong and fortified. We watch as Guinea wasps take care of armyworms, parasitic wasps implant tomato worms, and ladybugs/lacewings/hoverflies control aphid hatches. Native bees, bumblebees and honeybees seasonally find what nectar and pollen best suits them, often slumbering at night with mouths affixed to blooms. Our properties act as Monarch waystations every October. Everything works in tandem to keep our urban and bucolic farms healthy and thriving. There are challenges, too, and we must carefully observe to understand the problem before responding in kind.
We start our heirloom seeds and bulbs in our greenhouse and we sustainably grow our specialty peppers and garlics until they yield completely field ripened harvests. We pick, process and pack our peppers within 24 hours. Our rewards are incredibly vibrant colors and unparalleled flavored vegetables. The sauces we make use blended sweet and capsicum peppers for just the right amount of spice and for utility—they play nicely with many other rubs, sauces and seasonings. We currently have four amazing sauces ranging from no heat with our Cool Sauce, a little more heat with our aji duo sauce Inca’s Gold, a clean purple cayenne sauce called Pink Panther and a sweet heat habanero sauce called Haba Lava. We think our sauces with any of your meats are a home run combination and use them together every night that we cook—seriously delicious. The flavors of Mississippi’s essential goodness are layered and compounded.
But, even with the great care put into the growing and attention put into the crafting of flavor, we are having a difficult time reaching our sustainable market folks except for farmer’s markets. Would you guys consider putting a link to our website on one of your blog posts? Or perhaps would you consider a one time collaboration? Your customers most certainly care about the intention put into the growing of food with no chemical pesticides or inorganic fertilizers as we well know because we are one of those loyal customers. We see how they show up for your business and we honestly could use a little help connecting with people who want clean food grown by stewards of the land right here in South Mississippi for Mississippians by Mississippians.
Thanks for showing us that small farmers have a way forward in growing the movement of sustainable agriculture. Many thanks for all you do. We would love a further conversation, are open to suggestions or appreciate any assistance you might be open to, one farmer to another.
With gratitude,
Michael and Tally Scully Laurel Urban Farms
laurelurbanfarms@gmail.com
https://laurelurbanfarms.com
Here is a picture of the label from one of LUF's products.
The first thing I noticed was the ingredients listed. All are items you would typically find in your kitchen and would cook with. List is short & simple and meets all criteria listed above for NON-UPFs. Sugar, as the last ingredient meaning it is the least in quantity and does not go by another name like HFCS.
 One of LUF's competitors in our local grocery stores would be considered Ultra-processed with the natural flavor (may be processed or treated, despite sounding healthy) and the gum additive for shelf life.
Learn more about Laurel Urban Farms by visiting their website- https://laurelurbanfarms.com
and consider supporting their local farm.
Nature's Gourmet Farm product value proposition is to create a community that evolves around one of the most intrinsically important things of the ages, and that’s the provision of sustenance. That's our passion - to raise healthy food to nourish families and strengthen immune systems.
Our Beef is always grass finished with NO grains. Additionally, our animals are free of mRNA, GMO's (chemicals), Antibiotics, and Hormones. We ethically raise them on diverse forage pastures that regenerates our soils and protects our ecosystem.
Let me encourage you to "Be The Change" our food system needs by "Voting With Your Fork" at every meal.
** Product Availability Update **
NOTE: Restocks are made about 6 PM on the dates indicated below!
Chicken - Restocked October 22nd. Next restock November 11th (Veteran's Day)
Turkey - Thanksgiving whole turkeys arrived October 1st. Most have already been ordered. Get yours here. The limit of one has been removed. We expect to restock cut-ups and ground turkey late December to early January.
Eggs - Restocked each Tuesday prior to your delivery date.
Beef - Restocked October 19th Next restock will be November 23rd
Pork – Restocked October 8th. Cured items October 22nd. Next restock will be November 11th
Lamb - Restocked September 29, 2025
Custom Half or Whole Beef- Next custom half & whole beef harvest will be January 6th, 2026. Look for order details mid December. Yes, I want to Order Custom Beef & Pork
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