World Health Organization Says Processed Meat Causes Cancer

Eating processed meats such as sausages, ham, hamburgers, salami, and bacon causes cancer, and red meat such as beef, veal, pork, and lamb can cause cancer. This was confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) through its Agency for Research on Cancer in a press release on October 26th, 2015.

Processed meat: was classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). According to the World Health Organization, processed meat consumption causes colorectal cancer.

“The risk of colorectal cancer while eating processed meats increases in proportion to the amount of meat they eat”
– Dr. Kurt Straif
Agency for Research on Cancer.

Red meat: classified as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). This association was observed mainly for colorectal cancer, though associations were also found for pancreatic and prostate cancer.

The Agency for Research on Cancer, which was studying the carcinogenic risk of meat for the first time, reviewed 800 studies that analyzed associations of more than a dozen types of cancer with the consumption of red or processed meat.

Meat is damaging not only to human health but also to the environment. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: “Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation.” Meat production is also creating an enormous amount of needless suffering for animals.

Replacing chicken, fish, and other meats with plant-based alternatives will save animals and benefit your health and the environment.