Consumption of processed meat causes Colorectal Cancer

My Thoughts about Consumption of processed meat causes Colorectal Cancer

Source of Argument

The report, compiled by a Working Group of 22 experts across 10 countries on behalf of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), is published today in The Lancet Oncology.

A review of 800 studies from around the world found “sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer,” said the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

The finding, it added, supports “recommendations to limit intake of meat” — particularly in processed forms.

For every 50 grams (1.8 ounces) of meat eaten on a daily basis, the population-wide risk of developing colon cancer was 18 percent higher, said the agency.

And say that people likely to develop bowel cancer in their lifetime from six to seven out of every 100 who eat a three-rasher bacon sandwich every single day. ¹

So the stats of one extra “person likely” attributes for 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide to diets high in processed meat.

 

Concerns

I agree that glyphosate is a possible concern as glyphosate isn’t a natural organic component of meat it is an industrial weed killer that cows end up ingesting the IARC said:

“Instead, unprocessed red meat was classified as a “probable” carcinogen in its group 2A list that also contains glyphosate, the active ingredient in many weedkillers.”

To me attacking meat about the glyphosate seems a bit of a pointless attack as just a couple of months ago they found  glyphosate in what I can now call “cancer causing” Kellogg’s cereals.   ²

Monsanto has vested interest in their glyphosate product but Australia has been using their weed killer for over 30 years ³ now and if the WHO and the IARC are so concerned about glyphosate consumption they should be working with Monsanto or find alternatives for farmers  instead of using glyphosate.

 

Perspective

However, the WHO said there was limited evidence that 100g of red meat a day increased the risk of cancer by 17% and the WHO did stress that meat also had health benefits. Red meat does have nutritional value too and is a major source of iron, zinc and vitamin B12.  ⁴

Dr. Kurt Straif, head of the IARC Monographs Programme, says:
“For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed. In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance.” ⁵

Even in that article Australia’s new Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel said:

“Of hundreds and hundreds of environmental chemicals and food stuffs that were looked at, only one was not regarded as carcinogenic”

So everything was cancer casing in some way except one thing.

British nutrition expert Elisabeth Lund said: “Very few people in Europe eat sufficient meat to fall into the high meat consumption category,” and stressed it remained a crucial source of iron and zinc. ⁶

Ian Johnson, a Britain-based nutrition researcher, added that “there is little or no evidence that vegetarians in the UK have a lower risk of bowel cancer than meat-eaters.”

Vegans Jasmijn de Boo of The Vegan Society took this very seriously and said “”How many more health scares must we endure before people realise that animal protein is not good for us?”

So as Jasmijn de Boo eats his potentially cancer causing glyphosated cereal this article could have been easily titled “Cereal, Grains and Meat are cancer-causing”

 

Summary

Researchers are still trying to understand the limited evidence for how red meat is related to cancer risk.

“It is not yet fully understood” how cancer risk was increased, the agency added — speculating about the potential role of chemicals that form during meat processing or cooking.

It isn’t known whether the cancer risk is lower for as result of livestock practices such as grass-fed beef.

The North American Meat Institute said in a statement that “cancer is a complex disease not caused by single foods.” (I know vested interest but a good point)

If I was fearful of avoiding everything that is a carcinogenic chemical I would have died from malnutrition or even oxygen deprivation.

At the end of the day I would rather eat better quantity best-tasting animal naturally raised rather than eat large quantities of the worst-tasting poorly treated animal.

 

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