WHO to put processed meat in same category as cigarettes, alcohol and asbestos

[Olm the Water King]

Bacon and other processed meats cause cancer, claims WHO report | Health News | Lifestyle | The Independent

Bacon and other processed meats cause cancer, claims WHO report

Farmers and the meat industry have expressed concern about the impact on sales if the organisation lists processed meat as a carcinogen

Ian Johnston
1 hour ago

The World Health Organisation is reportedly planning to declare that bacon, sausages and other processed meat cause cancer.

Red meat is also expected to be listed as being “probably carcinogenic to humans”.

A source told The Daily Mail that the announcements were expected to be made on Monday with processed meat put in the same category as cigarettes, alcohol and asbestos.

The NHS Choices website says that “evidence shows that there is probably a link between eating red and processed meat and the risk of bowel cancer”.

“People who eat a lot of these meats are at higher risk of bowel cancer than those who eat small amounts,” it adds.

...

 

[Beorn]

This is idiotic. People need to be informed about their food not merely be given proclamations handed down from the authorities.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

Ummmm, bacon is goooood.....

 

[Poki]

Everything has side-effects, results may vary death is imminent, avoid life now.

YOLO...may lead to a shortened experience...but no worries...no regrets...your dead.

 

[ceecee]

WHO needs to quantify "a lot" because people don't know what that means. Do you eat red meat, bacon, sausage washed down with Mt. Dew most days - yeah, you're going to have problems.

 

[Chrysanthe]

I used to try and follow a healthy diet but gave up because I didn't know who to trust... now I just don't pay any attention at all to my physical health, which would change once I find 100% unbiased proof of a phenomenally superior diet regimen. Focusing too much on Si is draining... especially when whether or not your diet is healthy is a debateable thing. I don't understand how something like nutrition could be debateable, unless neither side possessed enough information to argue in the first place.

 

[danseen]

of course. why not? it's not healthy...

 

[Olm the Water King]

This is idiotic. People need to be informed about their food not merely be given proclamations handed down from the authorities.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; French: Centre international de Recherche sur le Cancer, CIRC) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations.

Its main offices are in Lyon, France. Its role is to conduct and coordinate research into the causes of cancer. It also collects and publishes surveillance data regarding the occurrence of cancer worldwide.[1] It maintains a series of monographs on the carcinogenic risks to humans posed by a variety of agents, mixtures and exposures.[2] Following its inception, IARC received numerous requests for lists of known and suspected human carcinogens. In 1970, the IARC Advisory Committee recommended that expert groups prepare a compendium on carcinogenic chemicals, and it began publishing its monographs series with this aim in mind.[3]

They're basically doing their job. Maybe doing one's job is idiotic, I don't know.

 

[SpankyMcFly]

My understanding is that it's not the meat per se, or even cooked meat but how it's cooked, i.e. using really high temperatures and the resulting chemical changes that doing so causes. Boiling meat = problem solved. The interesting thing is why aren't they saying this vs. me? This is not 'new' information, the research goes back to the 90's.

"Research conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as well as by Japanese and European scientists indicates that heterocyclic amines are created within muscle meats during most types of high temperature cooking."

Information on heterocyclic amines and cancer-causing chemicals in cooked meats at MedicineNet.com

"Under conditions of biological oxidation by the cytochrome P-450 enzyme system in the liver, benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons undergo epoxidation of their ring. The epoxides that form react with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and it is believed that this process is responsible for the carcinogenic properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons."

Is it true that grilling meat can cause cancer? - HowStuffWorks

From the National Institute of Health: "Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk"

Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk - National Cancer Institute

 

[/DG/]

They're basically doing their job. Maybe doing one's job is idiotic, I don't know.

Yeah, I mean, scientific studies are often so incredibly narrow in their focus. The idea is that the hyperfocus on the minutiae will help us determine the truth unobscured from any confounding variables. But it sure as hell makes attempting to get a general overview of a subject through reading scientific papers a lost cause.

Personally, I don't understand how one could stare at those extremely highly specific details all day and not get bored as fuck. I guess that's not a career goal for me.

But there is nothing wrong with what the WHO is doing. It's not fear mongering. The media is playing that part.

And I'm still going to eat all of the bacon and smoked meats I can. YOLO.

My understanding is that it's not the meat per se, or even cooked meat but how it's cooked, i.e. using really high temperatures and the resulting chemical changes that doing so causes. Boiling meat = problem solved. The interesting thing is why aren't they saying this vs. me? This is not 'new' information, the research goes back to the 90's.

Sorry, I'm lazy and don't have time to read the links. However, I was going to ask if you read anything about the curing process itself being a major factor in the carcinogen potential? I believe I heard this somewhere. So it may not be the method of cooking itself, but rather a combination of curing + this method of cooking.

 

[Beorn]

They're basically doing their job. Maybe doing one's job is idiotic, I don't know.

I don't give a shit about their job. Their job is to think for the masses. They didn't conduct research here. They gathered together 22 experts and came to a conclusion based on a plethora of research by different entities over years.

The problem with humanity is not that they die from cancer or any other disease. It's that they don't know how to think for themselves and more importantly they don't know how to seek joy.

Yes, the western diet has gone to shit over the last 70 years. That started with top-down thinking for the masses through advertisement. It also has to do with agricultural subsidies and other policy issues. I don't think that the solution is to just make the top-down thinking better. I think the solution comes from empowering people to make better choices for themselves.

 

[Beorn]

If you want to find a way to simplify this stuff it's much better to just turn to Michael Pollan's advice:

Eat food
Mostly plants
Not too much

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

Bacon and other processed meats cause cancer, claims WHO report | Health News | Lifestyle | The Independent

Same category but not the same level of risk!

Cigarettes, etc are high risk, WHO says this is 'moderate'.

Ex: Caffeine and cocaine are both in the 'category' of 'stimulants' but different level of risk associated with each.

Also, this is all dependent on dosages and amounts. Levels of risk vary with changes to those. So this is a sliding scale - not a static black and white.