Actus des entreprises  •  Membres

Red light for the red meat

Material prepared by Marta Kielak, clinical dietitian and psychodietician, expert For Good. Movement project.

In October, the topic of vegetarianism is being discussed more frequently in the press and media. You may also encounter the slogan flexitarianism or planetary diet. The assumptions and values of these dietary models are very similar. They are based primarily on the restriction of zoonotic products. Flexitarianism, however, means a flexible approach to a vegetarian diet and focuses on limiting meat. Importantly, if you already decide to buy meat, fish or eggs you should pay attention to reliable suppliers and monitored farms.  

Limiting zoonotic products - red meat - is extremely beneficial to health, as it reduces the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, among other things. 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer published a report in 2015, with which it confirmed that regular consumption of red meat can increase the risk of colon, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.

But processed meats that are cured, smoked, and heat-treated should be restricted in particular. Therefore, it is worth avoiding various types of: sausages, traditional, smoked, and aged meats. Ultimately, these meat preparations contain N-nitroso compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs).

Importantly, daily consumption of 50 grams of processed meat increases the risk of diabetes by 32%, stroke by 24%, coronary heart disease by 42%, cancer by 8%, and death overall by 22%. These are quite alarming statistics.*

Therefore, it is important to replace meat with other plant products rich in protein. Particularly recommended are pulses, including beans, peas, chickpeas and broad beans. 

It is estimated that Europeans should consume 77% less red meat to meet the planetary diet and reduce the risk of disease. 
In addition, producing 1 kg of meat consumes 10,000 to 30,000 liters of water.

Therefore, it is better to reach for beans instead of kabanos.

*Wołk A., Potential health hazards of eating red meat. J. Intern. Med., 2016, doi: 10.1111/joim.12543.