I call shenanigans on the Washington Times article “Study Finds Eating Red Meat Contributes to Risk of Early Death”. What the study actually found was that eating excessive amounts of red meat increases the mortality rate of people over fifty.

The times article says that the study accounted for “other variables that might confound the findings, such as smoking and physical activity.” Since I didn’t find a link to an actual overview of the study, I’ll take that as probably true.

It’s also probably true that people who get most of their nutrients from meat aren’t eating enough of other foods. I have read that the healthy effects of the Mediterranean diet were not decreased at times when meat consumption in Mediterranean countries increased, but I can’t find a source now.

I would also suggest that the dietary needs of the average active twenty-something are different from the needs of the average sixty-something.

The Washington times also notes that “a major reduction in meat consumption would probably have a host of other benefits to society: reducing water shortages and pollution, cutting energy consumption, and tamping down greenhouse gas emissions — all of which are associated with large-scale livestock production.” That sounds like a call for more hunting to me! Break out the buckshot, and remember to plant your veggies.

So, yeah, it’s a good idea to not eat too much red meat, but please don’t act like meatballs are cancer pills. And give me the grape juice that hasn’t spoiled yet.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 6:44 pm and is filed under info share. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.