"There is huge money in feeding people bland crap that's been processed as heavily as possible." The point isn't to process it as heavily as possible, it is to

"There is huge money in feeding people bland crap that's been processed as heavily as possible." The point isn't to process it as heavily as possible, it is to process it and flavor it so that it hits a "sweet spot" between the fat/salt/sugar flavors - according to the food science. This makes folks come back and buy more, especially with it seeming to taste better than their home-cooked food. They seriously design it to make your brain happy to have it. Some of it is bland, for sure, but plenty of it isn't. I'm not so astonished: This sort of thing has been happening throughout history. Lead in makeup, arsenic in dyes, and so on.