--- title: "Real Food" url: https://waronfood.org/real-food/ category: real-food type: hub status: stable published: 2026-10-07 last_updated: 2026-10-07 summary: "Evidence-first guides to reading labels, food dyes, cooking oils and ultra-processed food, written for people who want the facts without the fear." description: "Plain-language guides to seed oils, food dyes, additives and ultra-processed food: what the evidence shows, what is still debated, and what to do." keyword: "real food" attribution: "War on Food (waronfood.org)" --- # Real Food > Plain-language guides to seed oils, food dyes, additives and ultra-processed food: what the evidence shows, what is still debated, and what to do. ## Key takeaways - Wanting to know what is in your food is reasonable, and the label is the best tool you have. - Each guide separates what is well established, what is genuinely debated, and what is not supported. - The biggest, best-supported shift is cooking more from whole ingredients, not chasing single villains. Real food is food you could recognize in a kitchen: ingredients you can name, cooked in ways you understand. This section helps you read a label, judge an additive, and choose a cooking fat, with every claim checked against the research rather than the marketing or the outrage. You are right to ask questions. Food companies spend heavily to make products irresistible, and regulators have been slow on some things. In 2025 the FDA revoked the authorization of one synthetic dye and began asking industry to drop the rest. But the internet is also full of confident claims that the studies do not back up. You deserve both halves of the story. Every guide here follows the same approach: **what we know, what's debated, and what isn't supported.** No fear-selling, no talking down. ## Start here - [Seed oils: what they are, the full list, and what the evidence says](https://waronfood.org/real-food/seed-oils/). The most argued-about pantry staple, explained fairly. - [Is Red 40 bad for you?](https://waronfood.org/real-food/red-40/) What the behavior studies found, where it is used, and how to avoid it. - [Food dyes banned in Europe but allowed in the US](https://waronfood.org/real-food/dyes-banned-in-europe/). The real differences, and a common myth corrected. - [Ultra-processed foods list](https://waronfood.org/real-food/ultra-processed-foods-list/). The NOVA groups, how to spot ultra-processed food on a label, and swaps that actually stick. Cooking from scratch is the thread that ties it together. If you want to start, see our [pantry staples checklist](https://waronfood.org/pantry/staples-checklist/), learn to bake [sourdough](https://waronfood.org/sourdough/), or find farms and markets through [local food](https://waronfood.org/local-food/). ## Real Food guides - [Seed Oils: What They Are, the Full List, and What the Evidence Says](https://waronfood.org/real-food/seed-oils/): A fair, evidence-first guide to seed oils: the list, how they are processed, the case against them, what trials and studies show, and practical cooking choices. - [Is Red 40 Bad for You? What the Evidence Says](https://waronfood.org/real-food/red-40/): Red 40 is still legal in the US and the EU, but some children appear sensitive to it. What the studies show, what regulators did, and how to find it on a label. - [Food Dyes Banned in Europe but Allowed in the US: What's Actually True](https://waronfood.org/real-food/dyes-banned-in-europe/): The viral claim that Europe bans American food dyes is mostly wrong. Here is what each side actually allows, where the real differences are, and what changed in 2025 and 2026. - [Ultra-Processed Foods List: How to Spot Them and What to Eat Instead](https://waronfood.org/real-food/ultra-processed-foods-list/): What counts as ultra-processed food under the NOVA system, a categorized list, the label clues that give it away, what the evidence shows, and realistic swaps. ## FAQ **What does 'real food' mean?** We use it to mean whole and minimally processed foods, plus simple foods you could make in a home kitchen, such as bread, cheese or canned beans. It is a practical guide, not a purity test. **Are seed oils, food dyes and additives dangerous?** Some concerns are well supported, some are genuinely debated and some are not backed by evidence. Each guide in this section sorts the claims into those three groups so you can judge for yourself. **Where should I start if I want to eat less processed food?** Start with the foods you eat most often, such as drinks, breakfast and snacks, and swap one at a time. Our ultra-processed foods list has realistic swaps. ## Sources 1. [Monteiro et al., Public Health Nutrition (2019) — Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30744710/) 2. [FDA — Tracking Food Industry Pledges to Remove Petroleum-Based Food Dyes](https://www.fda.gov/food/color-additives-information-consumers/tracking-food-industry-pledges-remove-petroleum-based-food-dyes) --- Cite as: [Real Food](https://waronfood.org/real-food/), War on Food (waronfood.org), last updated 2026-10-07.