In a recent op-ed in the New York Daily News, science journalist Marta Zaraska discusses the meat industry’s influence on health studies.
In 2011, annual sales of meat in the U.S. totaled $186 billion. That’s more than the GDP of Hungary. Money like this equals power: power to control politics, public perception of meat, and even science.
Zaraska says:
If you see a scientific study showing that red meat consumption does not raise the risk of cancer or cardiovascular disease, or that high-protein diets are the way to go, good chances are that that particular study has been funded by the meat industry.
Sadly, studies funded by the meat industry promoting meat are abundant. Even respectable universities and scientists aren’t immune to industry influence.
Zaraska continues:
In a 2009 study of existing studies, Dominik Alexander, epidemiologist at EpidStat Institute in Colorado, and other researchers receiving funding from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Pork Board stated: “evidence does not appear to support an independent association between animal fat intake or animal protein intake and colorectal cancer.
You may argue that a study funded by the meat industry isn’t necessarily biased; however, studies have revealed that research sponsored by industries such as the pharmaceutical, tobacco, and oil industries is more than four times as likely to favor the sponsor as independent research.
Independent studies have shown time and again that animal products are dangerous to our health. Just last year, the World Health Organization ranked processed meats as high a cancer risk as cigarettes.
So what can you do to decipher fact from fiction? Be skeptical, do your own research, and think about which side the money is on.
You can skip meat and the industry’s lies by switching to a compassionate and healthy plant-based diet.
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