Bacon, Hot Dogs, Cause Cancer, New Report Says

It looks like the favorite food of most Texans may not be so great for the body.

A new report released on Monday from the World Health Organization says there’s sufficient evidence that bacon and other processed meats cause colorectal cancer in humans.

A working group of 22 experts from 10 countries convened by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, classified the consumption of red meat as probably carcinogenic to humans and processed meat as carcinogenic to humans. Carcinogenic is the same designation given to cigarettes. Considering the fact that three Texas cities fall into the Top 10 Bacon-consuming Markets in the U.S., it’s a hard pill to swallow when restaurants like Bacon, Frank and Briarcliff Bistro and Bacon Bar are right around the corner from the homes of thousands of bacon-loving Austinites.

• Want more Downtown Austin news? Click here for our daily newsletter.

Read the Report

This association was observed mainly for colorectal cancer, but associations were also seen for pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.

Meanwhile, the North American Meat Institute responded to the report on Monday by calling WHO’s meat study a dramatic and alarmist overreach, and that cancer Is complex and a balanced diet is key to staying healthy.

The meat institute said a vote by an International Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph panel classifying red and processed meat as cancer “hazards” defies both common sense and numerous studies showing no correlation between meat and cancer and many more studies showing the many health benefits of balanced diets that include meat. Scientific evidence shows cancer is a complex disease not caused by single foods and that a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle choices are essential to good health.

“It was clear sitting in the IARC meeting that many of the panelists were aiming for a specific result despite old, weak, inconsistent, self-reported intake data, said Betsy Booren, Ph.D., NAMI Vice President of Scientific Affairs in a statement. “They tortured the data to ensure a specific outcome.”

The panel was given the basic task of looking at hazards that meat could pose at some level, under some circumstance, but was not asked to consider any off-setting benefits, like the nutrition that meat delivers or the implications of drastically reducing or removing meat from the diet altogether, according to the North American Meat Institute.

“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,” said Dr. Booren.