A major new study released today yet again indicates that red meat consumption results in a shorter life.

Meat Intake and Mortality; A Prospective Study of Over Half a Million People, from the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, USA, involved more than 500,000 American people aged 50 to 71. Each person had to fill in a questionnaire about diet, exercise, smoking, education and other things that could affect their health. There were 47,976 male deaths and 23,276 female deaths during follow-up period of 10 years. Through analysing the results, the researchers came to the conclusion that “red and processed meat intakes were associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality”.

Using the word ‘modest’ seems misleading when you look at the figures. Male participants in the study who ate the most read meat per day, about 5 ounces (roughly the equivalent of a small steak), had a 31% higher risk of death over a 10-year period than men in the study who ate the lowest amount of red meat. For women, those who ate the most red meat had a huge 36% increase in death over a 10-year period compared with women who ate little red meat; eating lots of meat was associated with a 20% higher risk of dying of cancer and a 50% higher risk of dying of heart disease.

The researchers calculated that 11% of deaths in men and 16% of deaths in women during the study period could have been prevented if people had decreased their red meat consumption to the level of those in the lowest intake group.

To lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, the study advises an average daily limit of about 19 grams (0.7 ounces) of red meat for women, or 25 grams (almost an ounce) for men. But since red meat is so clearly damaging to our health, why eat any at all?

Scientists come up with the most ludicrous ideas sometimes. Dr Mustafa Farouk, of AgResearch, has found a new way to trick children in to eating meat. Now why on earth would anyone want to do that? Look a little closer and the answer is clear! AgResearch aims ‘to underpin the New Zealand pastoral sector’s sustainability and profitability’ and is run by a well-known sheep and beef farmer.

Apparently Dr Farouk accidentally discovered that mutton and beef can be formed into spaghetti-like strings.  A spokeman for AgResearch said “it tastes like meat and it can look like meat but we can actually change the composition of the product quite a lot so we can mask the meaty flavour”.

It gets worse. They have suggested that the meat spaghetti could be made out of cheap cuts of meat and are looking for a commerical partner in order to get this product in to supermarkets.

Now, tricking children in to eating their brocolli and brussell sprouts is one thing, but tricking them in to eating unethical, heart-attack and cancer inducing food is absolutely immoral.   Is there any limit to what the meat industry will do to promote their products?

The health section of the Observer magazine today offers advice from a nutritionist, chef and supplements expert to a mother worried about her 17 year old son becoming vegan.

The responses were helpful and positive but there are a few other facts that would have put this mother’s mind at ease.

Foods from animal sources are high in saturated fat, which clogs arteries and can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Obesity is another problem caused by excess fat in the diet, and as the UK Department of Health advises on it’s website, obesity causes around 58% of type 2 diabetes, 21% of heart disease and between 8% and 42% of certain cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon).

With over 21% of the UK population classified as obese, this mother should be thrilled her son is very unlikely to become one of them, especially at this most important time in his life. Vegans are seldom over weight - population studies show that meat-eaters have three times the obesity rate of vegetarians and nine times the obesity rate of vegans.

The experts also fail to mention all the many ‘meat substitutes’ on the market these days. Everything from vegan mince for spaghetti bolognese, lasagne and chillis, to vegan ice-cream in all kinds of yummy flavours, to fish-free fish fingers, dairy-free cheese and meat-less sausages. Redwood Foods are stocked in most health shops and make a vegan diet both easy and delicious.

As his fellow students grow fat, spotty and sluggish, tucking in to typical student food like McDonalds and KFC, this 17 year old will be bright and healthy and getting in to good habits to ensure a long, disease-free life. And what’s more, what mother could be more proud of a son who is providing a good example to other (often selfish) teenagers by putting his energy in to living with compassion?

Observer article
Obesity ‘as bad as climate risk’ BBC article