WHO’s IARC: Processed Meat As A Cause Of Cancer
It is very important that consumers not be terrorized by the report and the media coverage that followed it
The latest cancer report from the World Health Organization (WHO) provides some evidence that eating meat can cause cancer, but the risk is really very small for most people.
A research arm of WHO, the International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC) concluded in a paper early this week that processed meats, like Bacon, Ham and Hot Dogs, are a cause of colon cancer and possibly stomach cancer. This is because processing the meat by curing, smoking, fermentation or other methods generates chemicals that are carcinogens or suspected carcinogens.
The IARC also said that Red Meats like Beef and Pork are probably a cause of colorectal cancer and possibly a cause of pancreatic and prostate cancer.
The agency found “sufficient evidence” that processed meat can cause cancer, but the risk from Smoking Tobacco is many orders of magnitude greater, according to Dr. John Ioannidis, the chairman of disease prevention at Stanford University. “I think it’s very important that we do not terrorize people into thinking that they should not eat any Red Meat at all.”
Tobacco Smoking causes about a million cancer deaths a year worldwide; Alcohol adds another 600,000 annual cancer deaths.
Diets high in processed meat cause about 34,000 cancer deaths globally, according to the report.
The report was approved by a majority of the 22 scientists from 10 countries who reviewed more than 800 studies of cancer in humans at the request of the IARC, but the panel failed to reach a unanimous consensus.
There are sharp differences of opinion among experts.
The panel’s conclusions were based primarily on epidemiological studies linking what people ate with cancers they developed later. Often such studies cannot prove a causal link.
But IARC said that the evidence that processed Meats caused cancer was as strong as the evidence that Tobacco and Asbestos cause cancer.
While the absolute risk of eating processed Meats like sausage or corned beef is low, people who eat a lot every day can drive up their risks. The link between cancer and Red Meat is less persuasive. It was based on limited evidence from epidemiological studies in which other factors could not be ruled out.
The agency’s conclusions are consistent with the findings and recommendations issued in recent years by the American Cancer Society and the World Cancer Research Fund. An expert committee advising the federal government on what to include in the forthcoming Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that people should follow diets “lower in Red and Processed Meat.”
The final version of the guidelines should provide a more precise idea of how much Processed Meat and Red Meat is appropriate.
I like uncured Applewood smoked Bacon, Hot Dogs, grass-fed Beef and Pork, do not eat a lot, so not giving any of them up,
Stay tuned…
Paul Ebeling
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