Challenging Cancer Research UK

I, as a farmer and advocate for the public consumption of red meat, was frustrated to read the following on the Cancer Research UK website:

“The less processed and red meat you eat the lower your risk of cancer, so cutting down is good for your health no matter how much you eat.”

Source - cancerresearchuk.org - 2023

Frustrating, yes. But not surprising however. The charity are hardly the first to draw this conclusion.

I’d like to give Cancer Research UK the benefit of the doubt and presume that they are not knowingly disseminating false information, thereby squandering public donations at the risk of human health. Instead, I believe that this is merely symptomatic of a much wider, more complex issue.

Discrediting the data source behind this advice and correcting the flaws in the cited studies has been done in depth by researchers more skilled than me. I would lower the value of their work by an attempt to replicate it. What I shall instead do is explain my perspective on the issue in hope that it is of value to somebody, somewhere:

The incidence of cancer is increasing, as is most inflammatory diseases. The consumption of red meat is decreasing whilst consumption of processed foods, notably sugars and seed oils has dramatically increased. We must draw our own conclusions.

I advise, with the upmost empathy to those affected by cancer or disease, to be careful where you donate your hard earned money. I have huge respect to charities such as Cancer Research UK for their well meaning efforts, however I, for one, will not donate them a penny until they show that they are independently striving to address the root causes of cancer.