Farmers say don't overreact to WHO study linking meat-eating with cancer

The Irish Farmers' Association is warning against an overreaction to new research linking some meats to cancer.

The HSE is to review the study by the World Health Organisation, which classifies processed meats as "carcinogenic to humans".

This classification is the highest of five possible rankings, shared with alcohol, asbestos, arsenic and cigarettes.

It does not mean that processed meat, smoking and asbestos are all equally dangerous, as classifications describe the strength of the scientific evidence about an agent being a cause of cancer, rather than assessing the level of risk.

The study says there is a clear link between eating too much processed meat and bowel cancer and that red meat is a likely cause of some cancers - mainly bowel cancer, but also pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.

The 22 experts from 10 countries, convened by the IARC Monographs Programme, classified the consumption of red meat as “probably carcinogenic to humans” - the second highest ranking – based on limited evidence that the consumption of red meat causes cancer in humans and “strong mechanistic evidence supporting a carcinogenic effect”.

IFA President Eddie Downey said advisories had been issued about other foods in the past that have since been reversed.

"It's a hugely important industry to us…Don’t have an over-reaction to this (study)," he said.

"Remember we were told a few years ago butter was bad for you. Butter sales collapsed. Milk prices collapsed. Now, we're told butter is good for us and that's the same people making the same statements."

Dr Kurt Straif, head of the IARC Monographs Programme, said: “For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed.

“In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance.”

Dr Christopher Wild, director of IARC, said: “These findings further support current public health recommendations to limit intake of meat.

“At the same time, red meat has nutritional value. Therefore, these results are important in enabling governments and international regulatory agencies to conduct risk assessments, in order to balance the risks and benefits of eating red meat and processed meat and to provide the best possible dietary recommendations.”