Editing Food processing (section)

===Drawbacks===
[[File:Meat packages in a Roman supermarket.jpg|thumb|[[Meat]] packages in a Roman [[supermarket]]]]

Processing of food can decrease its nutritional density. The amount of nutrients lost depends on the food and processing method. For example, heat destroys [[Vitamin C#Sources|vitamin C]]. Therefore, canned fruits possess less vitamin C than their fresh alternatives. The [[USDA]] conducted a study of nutrient retention in 2004, creating a table of foods, levels of preparation, and nutrition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/80400525/Data/retn/retn06.pdf|title = USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6|date = Dec 2007|website = USDA|publisher = USDA.}}</ref>

New research highlighting the importance to human health of a rich microbial environment in the intestine indicates that abundant food processing (not fermentation of foods) endangers that environment.<ref>{{cite web |author=Michael Pollan |title=Some of my Best Friends are Germs |work=[[The New York Times]] Magazine |date=15 May 2013 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/magazine/say-hello-to-the-100-trillion-bacteria-that-make-up-your-microbiome.html?hp}}</ref>