Opinion : Can eating processed meat really damage your health?

According to a report published yesterday by the World Health Organisaiton’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) processed meat is now officially regarded as ‘carcinogenic to humans’.

Now it seems that bacon, sausages and other processed meats are at a level shared with alcohol, asbestos, arsenic and cigarettes. Indeed according to one report processed meat is now in the same category as plutonium.

The report said that consuming just 50g of processed meat a day, which is less than two slices of bacon, increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%.

It seems the chemicals involved in the processing of the meat could be increasing the risk of cancer as well a cooking at a high temperature which can also create carcinogenic chemicals.

By George! Do they expect us to avoid certain foods and go hungry just to stay healthy?

In my opinion the report ranks amongst the worst examples of scare mongering not far behind the baloney spread a few year ago about global warming.

I for one have no intention of giving up bacon butties, hot dogs and other foods just because of the publication of a report.

No doubt there will be many who are influenced by the report and will duly give up certain foods. What fools!

As for processed meat being in the same category as plutonium I just hope that any terrorists with a poor understanding of English don’t try to make a bacon butty bomb.

Only this lunchtime, a colleague returned from the canteen at work clasping a bacon butty in a box.

Naturally my good self was in two minds as whether or not to start a full scale evacuation of the building due to such a dangerous substance being in our midst.

Like asbestos and cigarettes I wonder if we will be able to sue the canteens who have sold, without correctly informing us of the danger, foods such a bacon sandwiches and hot dogs?

Of course it will be hard to prove where one eat the ‘fatal sandwich’ but no doubt a good lawyer will be able to make a case.

If things carry on as they are will children under 18 be banned from eating hot dogs?

Perhaps bacon butties will have to be cooked out of sight so customers are not tempted to buy one unnecessarily?

No doubt appropriate labelling will soon follow, perhaps a skull and crossbones will be painted on every hot dog van with a written warning ‘Eating a hot dog can seriously damage your health’.

How long will it be before scientists carry out research on the harm caused to unborn children whose mother eats bacon butties while pregnant?

After running out of scare stories related to the environment the scientists are turning their attention to the very food we eat.

I for one will not be changing my eaing habits, indeed the more people who turn away from processed meat the more there will be left for me to eat.

What do you think?

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