# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/21 "2015-10-26T22:50:06Z")
I said “no”, but I don’t eat bacon that much. Maybe once a month? But I’ll be trying to limit my consumption of red meat going forward. I like hamburgers and hotdogs. I like steak and roasts. I like sausage. But I also like chicken, turkey, salmon, and shrimp. I’ll probably like [grasshopper meat](http://www.wired.com/2015/03/well-eat-grasshoppersonce-know-raise/), once they start selling it. If I can limit my red meat consumption to once a week for most weeks of the year, then why not? I’m always up for a challenge. And I know it won’t hurt me none. Cancer scares me. Especially cancers of the digestive and reproductive systems. Ever since I read [this](http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a34905/matthew-teague-wife-cancer-essay/) graphic yet touching account, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how horrible it is to deal with the disease. Yes, we’re all going to die of something. But personally, I’d rather not die that way. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/22 "2015-10-26T22:51:45Z")
Yeah, something’s gonna kill me. Might as well be something delicious. Would be a shame to strike out every potentially unhealthy thing from my life, only to then die perfectly healthy of nothing at all. Whatever would they put on the death certificate? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/23 "2015-10-26T22:52:53Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > 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. Next week, another study will reveal that bacon and processed meats are good for you. For me, they are in a way, because I need extra sodium. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/24 "2015-10-26T23:40:05Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > 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. What city do you live in that you have pigs running around in the street? ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/25 "2015-10-26T23:45:49Z")
You left out a choice in your poll. (I never eat bacon, so this study doesn’t effect my eating habits.) ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/26 "2015-10-26T23:49:46Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > What exactly is it or what chemical is it that makes processed meat so harmful? Nitrite is a common preservative and is known to cause cancer. What’s interesting is that you can prepare many of these meats without nitrite. For example, my wife and I do home-made corned beef and pastrami. If you leave out the nitrite, the only difference is that the meat cooks and turns brown rather than staying red/pink. We kind of enjoy making our own, and making our own bacon is a project for someday soon. I’m not sure I’d trust my homemade product to have the same shelf life as a commercial one, but that’s not much of an issue. So… I might be persuaded to change my buying habits, but my solution will never be to give up bacon. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/27 "2015-10-27T00:22:55Z")
I remember when every cancer study involved Canadian rats. “Tab found to cause cancer in Canadian rats” “Processed sugars found to cause cancer in Canadian rats”. I didn’t panic then and I don’t plan on panicking now. ---
**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 27, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/28 "2015-10-27T00:31:56Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > What city do you live in that you have pigs running around in the street? Like I’m gonna tell you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/29 "2015-10-27T00:37:39Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I think it is the preservatives. from _Motel Hell_: “My whole life… my whole life. I’m the biggest hypocrite of them all…” “What do you mean…?” "I… I… In my meats… I used… “…preservatives…” 😃 ---
**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 27, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/30 "2015-10-27T01:02:01Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Yeah, something’s gonna kill me. Might as well be something delicious. Would be a shame to strike out every potentially unhealthy thing from my life, only to then die perfectly healthy of nothing at all. Whatever would they put on the death certificate? In your case, it would probably be some quantum weirdness resulting from a malfunction in a high-energy particle accelerator, wherein you suddenly started to glitter like Captain Kirk in the Enterprise transporter room, and vanished from the known universe with an audible “pop”! I really don’t know what they’d put down on the death certificate. “Natural causes” just doesn’t seem to cut it, even though we all acknowledge that quantum behavior is part of nature. P.S.- the above is my humble tribute to your many informative and much valued posts on these subjects. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/31 "2015-10-27T01:12:06Z")
I eat so little bacon that it won’t kill me. So I said I’m not giving it up. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/32 "2015-10-27T01:20:20Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > I eat so little bacon that it won’t kill me. So I said I’m not giving it up. Same here. I don’t eat a lot of red meat in general. I figure moderation is better than deprivation. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/33 "2015-10-27T01:21:11Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I’ll just offset it with the aromatherapy created by cooking the bacon. What if I bake it into a bran muffin? Do they negate each other? Would such a product even survive? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/34 "2015-10-27T01:25:08Z")
Castration improves life expectancy, who wants to get their balls cut off? I’m keeping mine and my bacon. If I die a few years early then I"m ok with that. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/35 "2015-10-27T01:34:31Z")
Mmm, salty maple cured cancer… ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/36 "2015-10-27T01:54:24Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Next week, another study will reveal that bacon and processed meats are good for you. For me, they are in a way, because I need extra sodium. 🆒 That sounds like a smart, healthy way to get extra sodium in your diet. /high five ---
**Author:** ![JoeShonka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@JoeShonka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeShonka)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/37 "2015-10-27T02:00:26Z")
The answer stating that 176 slices of bacon is equivalent to 1 cigarette has at least two false assumptions: (1) that the effect (for both bacon and cigarettes) is linear with dose and (2) that there is no threshold below which the cancer either is not created or that the humans have so much variation in cancer rates that you would not be able to statistically measure it. The linear-no threshold (LNT) assumptions are made for regulatory purposes because it is easy to calculate (as the article shows) and because it is conservative and overstates the true but unknown risk. This is done to ensure that an exposure would be considered acceptable. A correct answer would be to state that the example of 176 slices of bacon less than (and not equal to) 1 cigarette. I acknowledge that my comment ignores the issue of variability in sensitivity between humans, but this would not change my conclusions. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/38 "2015-10-27T03:56:37Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Mmm, salty maple cured cancer… Wait, so bacon is a “cure” for cancer? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/39 "2015-10-27T05:34:24Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > We all die of something. The fucking sun killed me 30 years ago without me knowing it! > [@control-z](#): > > I think it is the preservatives. I buy that kooky bacon without preservatives at the Grocery Outlet. So there. > [@gigi](#): > > Wait, so bacon is a “cure” for cancer? As good as any other, I figure! ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806/40 "2015-10-27T06:32:48Z")
Of course bacon causes cancer! I burned some meatballs tonight. That probably created carcinogenic compounds. Ate them anyway. I’ve been eating a lot of hot dogs and bologna this last year. I’m probably in trouble. Meh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bacon-causes-cancer/735806.md?page=3)