Junk Science: "Red meat is blamed for one in 10 early deaths"

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor, The Telegraph
Mar. 13, 2012

This is pure junk science, here is the key line:

"Scientists added that people who eat a diet high in red meat were also likely to be generally unhealthier because they were more likely to smoke, be overweight and not exercise."

All this means is the people who are generally unhealthier also eat red meat, it doesn't mean the red meat is the cause of their unhealthiness, correlation is not causation. They assume that simply because red meat contains saturated fat, it's bad for you, see Gary Taubes' work to counter that argument. Additionally, it says the study was accompanied by an editoral by Dr Dean Ornish (See Gary Taubes debate him here) saying eating less red meat "could also help tackle climate change."

This is junk science, and it's probably politically motivated. - ChrisSmall quantities of processed meat such as bacon, sausages or salami can increase the likelihood of dying early by a fifth, researchers from Harvard School of Medicine found. Eating steak increases the risk of early death by 12%.

[...]Scientists added that people who eat a diet high in red meat were also likely to be generally unhealthier because they were more likely to smoke, be overweight and not exercise.

In an accompanying editorial Dr Dean Ornish, of the University of California, San Francisco, said that eating less red meat could also help tackle climate change.

He said: “In addition to their health benefits, the food choices we make each day affect other important areas as well. What is personally sustainable is globally sustainable. What is good for you is good for our planet.”

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