Processed meat, red meat cancer-causers-----WHO

Processed meats like bacon and sausage can cause cancer, the World Health Organisation's, WHO's, cancer agency said Monday, adding that non-processed red meat is likely also carcinogenic.
The WHO finding was supported by a leading Italian cancer surgeon, but sharply criticized by US organizations representing the meat industry, reports dpa.
In an analysis of more than 800 independent scientific studies, a group of WHO cancer researchers said that each 50-gram daily serving of processed meat - meat that had been cured, fermented, salted or smoked - increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 per cent.
Red meat, which includes beef, veal, pork and all other mammalian muscle meat, was classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans ... based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat causes cancer in humans and strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect."
Though the clearest association was seen between processed meat consumption and colorectal cancer, associations were also observed between red meat consumption and pancreatic and prostrate cancers.
The clearest findings were drawn from large cohort studies, which involves following a group of people over a long period of time. They were drawn from different demographic groups with distinct diets.
"These findings further support current public health recommendations to limit intake of meat," said Christopher Wild, a doctor and the director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in a statement.
Wild added that red meat has nutritional value, and that governments should find a balance to make dietary recommendations.
Umberto Veronesi, Italy's best-known cancer surgeon and former minister of health, told the Italian edition of the Huffington Post website that the findings backed his long-held conviction that it was best to be a vegetarian.
"There are now few doubts that a food regime poor on meat and rich on vegetable is more apt to stay healthy," he said.
"Fruit and vegetables perfectly meet the needs of our body and help protect it."
He added that besides health issues, there are also ecological reasons for giving up meat noting that the world cannot afford to use 15,000 litres of water for every kilogramme of meat produced.
The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) criticised the findings saying the IARC panel disregarded several studies that showed no correlation between meat and cancer and also didn't take into consideration the health benefits of a balanced diet.
"They tortured the data to ensure a specific outcome," said Betsy Booren, NAMI's vice president of scientific affairs.
"IARC's decision simply cannot be applied to people's health because it considers just one piece of the health puzzle: theoretical hazards. Risks and benefits must be considered together."
The US National Cattlemen's Beef Association also slammed the report saying cancer was a very complex disease whose causes are hard to fully understand and there was disagreement even among the IARC researchers about the classification.
"Billions of dollars have been spent on studies all over the world and no single food has ever been proven to cause or cure cancer," said nutrition scientist Shalene McNeill in a statement by the association.
"The available scientific evidence simply does not support a causal relationship between red or processed meat and any type of cancer."