Say it ain’t so, World Health Organisation, please say it ain’t so.

Unfortunately the latest report from the WHO’s cancer arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), says they can now rank processed meats as group one carcinogens. You know what else sits in that group? Asbestos, alcohol, arsenic and tobacco, which isn’t really the company you want to be keeping. Here’s the Guardian:

The IARC’s experts concluded that each 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increased the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.

“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,” said Dr Kurt Straif, head of the IARC monographs programme. “In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance.”

Tim Noakes, paging Tim Noakes – it would be very interesting to hear his take on these latest findings. Dr Elizabeth Lund, an independent consultant in nutritional and gastrointestinal health, will have to represent his side of the argument then:

“A much bigger risk factor is obesity and lack of exercise,” she said. “Overall, I feel that eating meat once a day combined with plenty of fruit, vegetables and cereal fibre, plus exercise and weight control, will allow for a low risk of colorectal cancer and a more balanced diet.”

This will come as little surprise but the North American Meat Institute weren’t all that fond of the IARC and their findings:

“It was clear, sitting in the IARC meeting, that many of the panellists were aiming for a specific result despite old, weak, inconsistent, self-reported intake data,” said Betsy Booren, the institute’s vice-president of scientific affairs. “They tortured the data to ensure a specific outcome…

“The IARC says you can enjoy your yoga class, but don’t breathe air (class 1 carcinogen), sit near a sun-filled window (class 1), apply aloe vera (class 2B) if you get a sunburn, drink wine or coffee (class 1 and class 2B), or eat grilled food (class 2A). And if you are a hairdresser or do shift work (both class 2A), you should seek a new career.”

Is there maybe the option of eating organic, ethically sourced and unprocessed meat? One hopes so, because those Sunday morning fry ups have been a saviour and to give them up would be a cruel and unjust punishment.

[source:guardian]