Processed meat linked to cancers, red meat 'probably' is too: WHO

(By Mike Lloyd)  Are you having bacon for breakfast? Maybe there’s a ham sandwich tucked into your lunch?
The World Health Organization is putting processed and cured meat into the same class of carcinogen as asbestos or smoking.
Fifty grams (less than two slices of bacon) per day increases your risk of cancer.

“The increase in risk for colorectal cancer is between 15 and 20 per cent per 100 grams per day,” Dr Kurt Straif with the WHO tells the BBC. He adds that after assessing the best scientific evidence from around the world, they’ve also found red meat is probably carcinogenic but there is limited evidence.

ABC’s Doctor Richard Besser says the WHO is specifically targeting processed meats. “Things like hot dogs, bacon, [and] ham do increase the risk of getting colon cancer. When they looked at red meat, they said it ‘probably’ increases the risk of getting colon cancer.”

But the WHO also points out red meat does have nutritional value.
Meat industry groups protest the classification. The North American Meat Institute argued in a statement that “cancer is a complex disease not caused by single foods” and stressed the importance of lifestyle and environmental factors.
So, should we stop eating the stuff altogether? Most experts say at least cutting down consumption would be a good thing.