Processed Meats Cause Cancer, World Health Organization Says

The evidence for this has been known for years. I'm sure the meat industry has worked to counteract the information.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/processed-meats-pose-same-cancer-risk-as-smoking-asbestos/?WT.mc_id=SA_HLTH_20151027

Reuters
October 26, 2015

Eating processed meat can cause bowel cancer in humans while red meat is a likely cause of the disease, World Health Organisation (WHO) experts said on Monday in findings that could sharpen debate over the merits of a meat-based diet.

The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the WHO, put processed meat like hot dogs and ham in its group 1 list, which already includes tobacco, asbestos and diesel fumes, for which there is "sufficient evidence" of cancer links.

"For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal (bowel) cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed," Dr Kurt Straif, Head of the IARC Monographs Programme, said in a statement.

Red meat, under which the IARC includes beef, lamb and pork, was classified as a "probable" carcinogen in its group 2A list that also contains glyphosate, the active ingredient in many weedkillers.