People have been marinating in the startling news that processed meat such as bacon and sausages are shown to increase the risk of cancer by the World Health Organization. These same worry-warts took to social media with the idea that “bacon causes cancer” and have quickly decided to cut red meat completely out of their lives.
It sounds good now but eventually, this trend is going to sizzle out. Instead of griping, people should serve up some real change in their everyday lives.
@peta hi can I have a vegan starter kit and a personal vegan mentor? I'm so scared by the report. I don't want to ever taste meat.
— Josue Young (@Polar_Hopo) October 27, 2015
Most health scares, like Ebola, fall victim to the public's short attention span. When Ebola was present in the U.S., the public panicked, declaring that the everyone was going to be infected with Ebola in a few months. A little while later, all the cases of Ebola in the U.S. were gone, along with the public's attention — regardless of the fact that Ebola was still a problem in Liberia until May of this year.
There are 112 Group 1 carcinogens, and I am sure that the public is aware of every single one of these carcinogens and avoids them every day of their lives. Yes, processed and cured meats are labeled as one of them, along with smoking cigarettes and asbestos. However, the risks of getting cancer between the two are not even close to the same.
According to the World Health Organization, the classification of them as Group 1 carcinogens does not mean that they have the same risks of cancer. "Smoking increases your relative risk of lung cancer by 2,500 percent; eating two slices of bacon a day increases your relative risk for colorectal cancer by 18 percent," according to Wired.com.
The #WarOnBacon rages on. My recommendation: put down the smokes and make a BLT. It's healthier.
https://t.co/OsydU9GBrI
— Nick Giuliano (@Nick_Giuliano) October 29, 2015
These days, we seem to be restating the fact that an unhealthy lifestyle, poor diet lack of exercise, use of tobacco and alcohol consumption cause cancer. Everything is bad for you when it is consumed in excess.
People want a quick fix to their health and wellbeing, but are not willing to do the actual work to better themselves. Instead of eating healthy and exercising, people are actually convinced that cutting bacon or drinking diet soda is the “cure all” answer. The reality is that there are individuals eating bacon and other processed meats that are in perfect health because they have learned that moderation is key.
If you eat 15 pieces of bacon a day, you might have an increased risk for cancer, but don’t have beef with bacon. Keep it in moderation.
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Reach the columnist at larober3@asu.edu or follow @lindsayaroberts on Twitter.
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