Tri-State Neighbor: South Dakota Farm Newspaper

With the release of the report, “Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective,” last week from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), the livestock industry - beef in particular - is going to have a tough road to drive down.

The report addresses how diet and weight factors into the risk of cancer.

Some news outlets like ABC News included in their Web site story headline alcohol and red meat consumption along with diet and weight are all implicated in cancer risk.

To me, most viewers of the story are going to pick up on red meat right away and start cutting back.

One source in the ABC story is quoted as saying, “They place a limit on red meat, rather than recommending against it altogether. They suggest that white meat is a better choice, despite evidence that it, too, is linked to cancer in some studies.”

This quote comes from the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine that - as ABC references to them - “promotes vegetarianism among other health-conscious behaviors.”

If I were ABC, I would have stopped with “promotes vegetarianism” and not relate that lifestyle choice to health-conscious behaviors. Vegetarianism is a diet that promotes elimination of a food group rather than moderation.

Plus, if you've been following our letters to the editor since June, most American crops consist of GMOs which about half of our letter writers believe are cancer-causing. As a side note, the cancer report doesn't address GMOs but does touch on aflatoxins.

Hmmm Š vegetarianism isn't sounding that great anymore, maybe a steak would be better.

I'm glad to see the national beef checkoff is on top of the cancer report and offered their comments and information on what the checkoff is doing in regards to this issue.

The beef checkoff has been working on the following:

1. Checkoff dollars have been invested to help conduct extensive research on the topic of red meat and cancer. In addition, America's beef producers have committed considerable resources to provide leaner beef products for consumers to “go lean” with protein and follow the Dietary Guidelines.

2. Based on sound science, absolutely nothing that the checkoff has seen could lead anyone to the conclusion that red meat causes cancer.

3. Cancer is not about diet alone - it's a highly complex disease with many contributing factors.

4. The checkoff recommends people follow the 2005 Dietary Guidelines, which recommend a nutrient-rich, balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low- and non-fat dairy and lean meat.

5. In a comprehensive review by a team of epidemiologists (“Assessment of Red Meat and Cancer Risk”), the researchers found no conclusive evidence of a causal association between red meat and cancer.

The take home message from the WCRF/AICR report should have been what has been the chant from nutritionists forever - eat all foods in moderation.

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