There seems to be some misunderstanding about what constitutes a WHOLE food and what defines PROCESSED foods. The information below will clear that up for anyone who might be confused: 
Whole grains are not considered processed as they are simply cleaned and bagged in their original form. Cracking, rolling, steaming — that falls under the header of ‘processed’.. The whole grain has been ‘bruised’ or altered in some manner that renders it formally ‘processed’. Pelleted feed IS cooked/processed. So is much of the sweet feed that is on the market today. The low carb/no sugar feeds are ALL processed. That does mean cooked. Heating = cooking = processing. They all (other than whole grains) have artificial additives of some sort.
From the NYC government pdf on school wellness educational materials …
Quote:
A whole food is usually a healthy food for the very same reasons you stated earlier. Whole foods don’t have all the additives, fat and sugar added. They also don’t have their nutrients taken away. … What does it mean to be processed? Processing is altering the food from the form it is found in nature. (italics and bold my emphasis.) Quote from the NYC government site for school programs/requirements of teaching: Lesson 3 in FoodChange Nutrition Lesson: Whole Foods vs. Processed Foods. pdf file: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/download…s-lesson03.pdf
Another resource is the “Health Teacher” for K-12 that states,Quote:
What is Whole Grain?
Whole Grain foods contain all three layers of grain. When grains are milled and refined, the bran and germ are removed, as are all the nutrients and fiber.http://www.healthteacher.com/content/id/70/
and yet another
Quote:
“When you eat whole foods, you’re getting the food in its natural state,” Gidus tells WebMD. “You’re getting it intact, with all of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are in the food.” Basically, it’s the healthy whole food, rather than the bits that remain after refinement and processing. It’s the difference between an apple and apple juice , or a baked potato and mashed potatoes. from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/t…hy-whole-foods
