PCRM Urges Action in Response to Major Study
on Link Between Colon Cancer and Meat
 A
major study published in the January 12 issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association shows that the more red
and processed meats people eat, the greater their risk of cancer
in the distal portion of the large intestine.
Although previous studies have shown similar associations, the
large study population (nearly 150,000) and the long duration of
the study (two decades) make this one of the strongest cases against
meat in many years.
The day the study was published, PCRM nutritionists called on public
health officials and Congress to take immediate action based on
the study’s findings. Said PCRM president Neal Barnard, M.D.,
“Often, new research studies simply beget more research. But
given what we now know about the impact of meat consumption on colon
cancer risk, it’s critical for our government to take action
now.”
PCRM made the following recommendations, which were quoted in several
major news outlets:
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department
of Health and Human Services should remove meat products from
the list of recommended foods in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines and
the Food Guide Pyramid. They should also specifically warn against
the consumption of these products.
- The USDA should remove meat products from the list of subsidized
foods in the National School Lunch Program and other federal nutrition
programs and replace these products with more healthful protein
sources, including beans, lentils, soy products, and meat analogues.
- Congress should audit the other means by which the federal
government subsidizes meat products as the first step in discontinuing
such support.
- The meat industry should be held financially responsible for
a measure of the colon cancer incidence in the meat-eating population—as
the tobacco industry has been—for its contribution to lung
cancer.
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PCRM Online,
February 2005
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