Study Links Red Meat and Cancer

This week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced it has found links between eating red and processed meats and cancer.

According to the study, eating 100g of red meat per day leads to a 17 per cent increased risk of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer. Similarly, eating 50g of processed meat per day increases the risk by 18 per cent.

However, the meat industry moved quickly to play down the reports.

Dr Betsy Booren, from the North American Meat Institute, noted: “Followers of the Mediterranean diet eat double the recommended amount of processed meats. People in countries where the Mediterranean diet is followed, like Spain, Italy and France, have some of the longest lifespans in the world and excellent health.”

The Institute emphasised that the WHO had reviewed and classified as some level of hazard 940 different agents, including air pollution and shift work.

Maureen Strong, Nutrition Manager for the UK's AHDB levy board, said that the government recommended eating no more than 70g of red and processed meat a day, and the advice was not changing, adding that people in the UK only consume 17g per day on average anyway.

“Red and processed meat plays an important role in a balanced diet, providing protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins," Ms Strong said - read more.

CME analysts Steve Meyer and Len Steiner said that livestock futures were lower on Friday and then again on Monday, and that this had been attributed in part to the WHO report.

"It is possible that in the very near term we could see some negative impact but there is really no good way to quantify the impact," they said - read more.