Originally published May 3, 2023 6:39 am PDT
In a special issue of Animal Frontiers, scientists have debunked the popular belief that meat consumption is harmful to human health and the environment, according to a report from The Telegraph.
They maintain that meat is crucial for human health, specifically highlighting the challenges in replacing the nutritional content provided by meat in alternative diets.
The researchers emphasized the impact of low meat intake on poorer communities, which often experience stunting, wasting, and anemia due to insufficient protein and vital nutrients.
Over the past years, plant-based diets have gained popularity, with initiatives such as Veganuary and meat-free Mondays persuading the public to avoid meat.
The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factor Study, published in The Lancet in 2020, suggested that a high red meat diet led to 896,000 deaths worldwide and was the fifth leading dietary risk factor.
However, scientists argue that unprocessed meat is essential for human health, providing the majority of vitamin B12 intake and playing a significant role in supplying retinol, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, and crucial metabolic compounds such as taurine and creatine.
In a paper published in the issue, they found no substantial evidence linking red meat consumption below 75g per day to disease, asserting that when consumed as part of a healthy diet, the connection between red meat and disease disappears.
Dr. Alice Stanton, of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, one of the paper’s authors, said, “The peer-reviewed evidence published reaffirms that [the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Risk Factors Report] which claimed that consumption of even tiny amounts of red meat harms health is fatally scientifically flawed.”
Stanton went on to say that removing fresh meat and dairy from diets “would harm human health” and that “Women, children, the elderly and low income would be particularly negatively impacted.
The Telegraph notes that the U.K.’s public healthcare system, the National Health Service (NHS), advises that red meat, including beef, lamb, and pork, is an excellent source of protein, vitamins, and minerals, and can be part of a balanced diet.
However, they also caution that consuming more than 90g per day may increase the risk of bowel cancer.
Nearly 1,000 scientists worldwide have signed the Dublin Declaration, emphasizing the importance of livestock farming for society and arguing against its victimization by “zealotry.”
Signatories include experts from leading universities such as Cambridge, Edinburgh, Bristol, Belfast, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Surrey, as well as researchers from Harper Adams, a top agricultural and farming university in Britain.
The declaration says that “livestock-derived foods provide a variety of essential nutrients and other health-promoting compounds, many of which are lacking in diets even among those populations with higher incomes.”
It goes on to explain that while well-resourced individuals may achieve adequate diets with heavy restrictions on meat, dairy, and eggs, this approach should not be recommended for the general population.
