Processed meat and red meat may increase the risk of cancer, according to a new study from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which was recently published in Lancet Oncology.
Processed meats such as hot dogs and bacon have been classified as a
Group 1 carcinogen, and can increase the risk of bowel cancer by 18
percent for every 50 gram serving eaten daily. A Group 1 classification
is the strongest association, placing the consumption of these meats
among dangers like cigarettes. Red meats such as beef and pork received a
Group 2a classification, meaning there is strong evidence to suggest
they are probably cancer-causing with limited evidence from human
studies. It has previously been reported that the commonly used
herbicide glyphosate, more commonly known as Roundup, causes similar
risk.
Group classifications used to describe cancer risk are assigned
according to the amount of evidence present to suggest a correlation.
While processed meat was given a higher risk designation, the study
concluded that fresh red meats such as steak or lamb may increase
chances of bowel, prostate, and pancreas cancers. In all cases, the risk
escalates with the amount of meat eaten over time.
These findings are published amidst the public’s increasing
interest in higher-quality meat products. Americans consume
approximately 25 percent less red meat since the 1970s, but the average consumption of meat remains higher than
the federal MyPlate recommendations, and poultry consumption continues
to rise. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee also found in
their systematic review of scientific evidence that an overall healthy dietary pattern is low in red meat and processed meat.
Yet the official 2015 federal dietary guidelines—set to be released
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) by the end of the year—may or may not
include warnings to consume less red meat and processed meats based on
cancer risk. “Look, the Dietary Guidelines are pretty clear: Lean meat
is part of a healthy diet. That’s the science that we rely on, that’s
the science that’s being reviewed now as the Dietary Guidelines are
being developed,” says Tom
Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. “… until such time that the
folks that are formulating the Dietary Guidelines tell me different,
that’s the approach we’re going to take.”
The American meat industry also pushed back on the findings,
claiming that no new evidence was reviewed and that the IARC may not
represent scientific consensus. "It’s a dramatic and alarmist
overreach,” says Eric
Mittenthal, vice president of public affairs for the North American
Meat Institute. “They tortured the data to fit what their preconceived
notion was.”
Public health advocates disagree. It’s time Americans fully
understand that ““bacon and sausage and pepperoni and hot dogs aren’t
harmless,” according to Bonnie Liebman,
director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The meat industry is now on the defensive to combat the negative
headlines, and its predictable response has been to use the “playbook of
the tobacco, fossil fuels and every other industry that tries to
convince the public that there’s doubt behind the science,” says
Liebman.
No comments:
Post a Comment