# Bacon Causes Cancer **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806 "2015-10-26T17:12:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/1 "2015-10-26T17:12:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Processed meat, such as bacon or hot dogs, causes cancer, a World Health Organization group said in a long-awaited determination on Monday. The group said red meat, including beef, pork and lamb, probably causes cancer, too. > > ``` > Many studies show the links, both in populations of people and in tests that show how eating these foods can cause cancer, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said in its report, released in the [Lancet medical journal](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2815%2900444-1/fulltext). > > ``` [Ham, Sausages Cause Cancer; Red Meat Probably Does, Too, WHO Group Says](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/processed-meat-causes-cancer-red-meat-probably-does-group-says-n451396) So who’s giving up bacon and holiday ham? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/2 "2015-10-26T17:16:06Z")
Cancer, schmancer. I’ll have yours if you don’t want it. Is UN-processed meat any safer? Because I have no problem just biting into a live pork right off the street. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/3 "2015-10-26T17:19:10Z")
I generally don’t eat pork for other reasons, so it’s kinda irrelevant to me. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/4 "2015-10-26T17:19:48Z")
Meh. WHO doctors also said that the risks presented by such meats pales in comparison to those presented by smoking and/or drinking. In the industrialized world of today, it may be easier to list things that absolutely do not cause cancer. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/5 "2015-10-26T17:24:24Z")
I’ll just offset it with the aromatherapy created by cooking the bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/6 "2015-10-26T17:24:38Z")
> [@](#): > > **probably** causes cancer, too That’s science you can hang your hat on…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/7 "2015-10-26T17:30:53Z")
[Give me all the bacon and eggs you have.](http://images-cdn.9gag.com/photo/amXvP79_700b.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/8 "2015-10-26T17:36:31Z")
Just saw this on another site, and I’ll repost my comment here where there will probably be better discussion. In relative terms, this study quoted a 17% increase in relative risk of colorectal cancer with eating 50 g/day of processed meet. In absolute terms lifetime incidence of colorectal cancer is ~5%. So we’re talking maybe reducing that to 4% if you cut out all processed meats, or increasing to 6%-7% if you’re eating bacon at every meal. From a public health perspective that’s huge, and it’s not insubstantial for individuals. IIRC that’s way less than the absolute risk of cancer and death from smoking, though it’s higher than a lot of things that some people freak out about. (Personally, I like to think I’ll reduce my processed meat consumption to a few times per week, but I’m not sure I will. The part of me that points to the bacon when going out to lunch when I’m already hungry isn’t well-versed in statistics…) ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/9 "2015-10-26T17:42:37Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Just saw this on another site, and I’ll repost my comment here where there will probably be better discussion. > > In relative terms, this study quoted a 17% increase in relative risk of colorectal cancer with eating 50 g/day of processed meet. In absolute terms lifetime incidence of colorectal cancer is ~5%. So we’re talking maybe reducing that to 4% if you cut out all processed meats, or increasing to 6%-7% if you’re eating bacon at every meal. From a public health perspective that’s huge, and it’s not insubstantial for individuals. IIRC that’s way less than the absolute risk of cancer and death from smoking, though it’s higher than a lot of things that some people freak out about. > > (Personally, I like to think I’ll reduce my processed meat consumption to a few times per week, but I’m not sure I will. The part of me that points to the bacon when going out to lunch when I’m already hungry isn’t well-versed in statistics…) But it makes for great, attention-grabbing headlines on news sites, and a great way for Gawker writers to be even bossier know-it-all assholes. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/10 "2015-10-26T17:47:03Z")
What I find most interesting is that the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that processed meats cause cancer. The NBCNEWS article suggests that it won’t be log before they can establish that all red meats will cause cancer. I wonder, how this is going to play out in California’s Proposition 65? Oh, I voted No. I’ve made it over half a century, I doubt there is much help for me. Either I will develop colon cancer, or I won’t. Stopping eating bacon now I don’t think is going to do anything either way. Besides, I like bacon. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/11 "2015-10-26T18:17:22Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > In relative terms, this study quoted a 17% increase in relative risk of colorectal cancer with eating 50 g/day of processed meet. In absolute terms lifetime incidence of colorectal cancer is ~5%. So we’re talking maybe reducing that to 4% if you cut out all processed meats, or increasing to 6%-7% if you’re eating bacon at every meal. From a public health perspective that’s huge, and it’s not insubstantial for individuals. IIRC that’s way less than the absolute risk of cancer and death from smoking, though it’s higher than a lot of things that some people freak out about. The figures I saw quoted were 18% increased risk of colorectal cancer for frequent consumption of processed meat and 17% for red meats including beef, veal, pork, mutton, and lamb. To put it in perspective, however, smoking increases the risk of lung cancer by about 2500%. > [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > What I find most interesting is that the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that processed meats cause cancer. The NBCNEWS article suggests that it won’t be log before they can establish that all red meats will cause cancer. Red meats are already implicated, but the linkage is less certain – the researchers could not exclude chance, bias, and “other diet and lifestyle risk”. But such data as they have suggests similar increased risk percentage as processed meat. And it’s long been thought that high-heat grilling, like what you get on a barbecue, increases the risk further due to charring and the creation of chemicals like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. There’s probably a moral or at least a perspective in a story I read about this many years ago when researchers barbecued steaks in order to analyze them for these chemicals. They only needed small amounts for the analysis. They ate the rest. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/12 "2015-10-26T18:36:19Z")
I just turned 70. I figure, whatever possible carcinogens I eat now won’t kill me until something else gets me first. But on the other hand, I do have to watch my cholesterol and sodium intake. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/13 "2015-10-26T19:17:00Z")
What exactly is it or what chemical is it that makes processed meat so harmful? ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/14 "2015-10-26T19:53:53Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > What I find most interesting is that the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that processed meats cause cancer. The NBCNEWS article suggests that it won’t be log before they can establish that all red meats will cause cancer. > > I wonder, how this is going to play out in California’s Proposition 65? There will be no impact, since virtually every single business and product in California already carries a Prop 65 warning, just in case. Which makes the entire idea behind Prop 65 meaningless, because everyone ignores all of the warnings anyway. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/15 "2015-10-26T20:10:25Z")
After decades of health groups saying one thing, then turning around later and saying the exact opposite, and other assorted bullshit (they clearly at times just have some sort of rabble rousing agenda) I don’t give a fuck what they ever say about anything and will continue to eat what I like when I like. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/16 "2015-10-26T20:14:28Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > [Ham, Sausages Cause Cancer; Red Meat Probably Does, Too, WHO Group Says](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/processed-meat-causes-cancer-red-meat-probably-does-group-says-n451396) > So who’s giving up bacon and holiday ham? Hahaha…you’re funny. Not me. I eat it in moderation. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/17 "2015-10-26T20:24:32Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > What exactly is it or what chemical is it that makes processed meat so harmful? I think it is the preservatives. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/18 "2015-10-26T20:32:17Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I think it is the preservatives. Nitrates, most likely. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/19 "2015-10-26T20:46:06Z")
I’m pushing 79 so what will be will be. And it probably won’t be bowel cancer. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/20 "2015-10-26T22:32:26Z")
We all die of something. I’d rather die of too much bacon than not enough. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806.md?page=2)