WHO Report Links Processed and Red Meats to Cancer
Published at | Updated at
amana images/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Is eating processed meat as dangerous as smoking cigarettes? The two activities are now classified the same way, according to a new report out Monday by the World Health Organization.
The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer says processed meat, which is salted, cured or smoked, should be classified as a Group 1 carcinogen.
That group is a big one — it includes alcohol, cigarettes and plutonium. And now, that group also includes bacon.
Red meat falls into a lesser category — Group 2A, which also lists overnight shift work as a potential cause of cancer.
The meat industry disagrees with all of this. One group says the report defies common sense, and argues that meat, as part of a balanced diet, has health benefits.
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.