Profiting from crisis: the ultra-processed food industry in wartime

Abstract

The food industry has long operated within wartime contexts, repeatedly reaping substantial financial benefit from conflict-disrupted food systems. Wartime investments have historically translated into sustained brand loyalty, expanded consumer markets, and durable production and distribution networks that continue long after conflict ends. This pattern is particularly evident in the promotion of industrially processed and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) within military and humanitarian food systems. UPFs are especially profitable in crisis settings because they are manufactured from inexpensive commodity ingredients, have long shelf lives, are easily transported, and can be mass-produced at low unit cost. Their profitability is further reinforced through intensive marketing and “appeal engineering” designed to maximize palatability and demand. This presentation examines how the ultra-processed food industry exploits wartime conditions for commercial gain while deepening nutritional inequities and long-term health harms. Historical examples illustrating these dynamics include Coca-Cola committing to supply beverages to U.S. soldiers globally at a fixed price, building more than 60 bottling plants near combat zones, strengthening global brand recognition while establishing infrastructure across North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific. The prolonged war in Gaza has devastated local food systems, sharply reduced access to fresh foods, created massive displacement, poverty and restrictions on humanitarian aid, which in turn have increased dependence on packaged and processed foods, with UPFs often becoming a coping strategy for affected families. This growing reliance has serious health implications, such as increased risk of non-communicable diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers as well as micronutrient deficiencies, chronic inflammation, poorer mental health, and adverse inter-generational health outcomes.