Science Does Not Support International Agency Opinion on Red Meat and Cancer

beef consumer demand meat caseAn international committee assigned to review all of the available evidence on red meat and cancer risk were divided on their opinion whether to label red meat a “probable” cause of cancer, according to the Beef Checkoff nutrition scientist and registered dietitian who observed the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) process. After seven days of deliberation in Lyon, France, IARC was unable to reach a consensus agreement from a group of 22 experts in the field of cancer research, something that IARC has proudly highlighted they strive for and typically achieve. In this case, they had to settle for “majority” agreement.

“Cancer is a complex disease that even the best and brightest minds don’t fully understand,” says Shalene McNeill, PhD, RD. “Billions of dollars have been spent on studies all over the world and no single food has ever been proven to cause or cure cancer. The opinion by the IARC committee to list red meat as a probable carcinogen does not change that fact. The available scientific evidence simply does not support a causal relationship between red or processed meat and any type of cancer.”

Most scientists agree that it is unrealistic to isolate a single food as a cause of cancer from a complex dietary pattern further confounded by lifestyle and environmental factors.

“As a registered dietitian and mother, my advice hasn’t changed. To improve all aspects of your health, eat a balanced diet, which includes lean meats like beef, maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and, please don’t smoke,” says McNeill.

While IARC represents a select group of opinions, it doesn’t always represent consensus in the scientific community.

A large meta-analysis, published online in May in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, analyzed the relationship between red meat intake and risk for colorectal cancer and concluded “red meat does not appear to be an independent predictor of CRC risk,” according to Dominik Alexander, PhD, MSPH, the epidemiologist who conducted the research on behalf of the Beef Checkoff.

“There are a constellation of factors that are associated with the probability of getting cancer, which include age, genetics, socioeconomic characteristics, obesity, lack of physical activity, where you grew up, alcohol consumption, smoking and even your profession,” says Alexander. “The bottom line is the epidemiologic science on red meat consumption and cancer is best described as weak associations and an evidence base that has weakened over time. And most importantly, because red meat is consumed in the context of hundreds of other foods and is correlated with other behavioral factors, it is not valid to conclude red meat is an independent cause of cancer.”

According to Alexander, studies in nutritional epidemiology can be highly prone to bias such as self-reported dietary intake, for which habits may change over time. Because of this, associations reported in nutritional epidemiology may be surrounded by uncertainty. For instance, most, if not all, of the observational studies with red meat are limited by confounding factors; for example, studies have shown that people who consume the most red meat are the most likely to smoke, eat fewer fruits and vegetables and be overweight or obese – all of which may confound the relationship between eating red meat and risk of cancer.

Also, more recent studies in large cohorts are now finding either no association or non-significant findings between red meat and cancer. For example, a recent study out of Harvard using the well known The Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and The Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) found unprocessed meat intake had an inverse association with distal colon cancer and a weak, statistically non-significant, positive association with risk of proximal colon cancer.

In addition, gold standard nutrition evidence, such as the Women’s Health Initiative and the Polyp Prevention Trial, two large, multi-year randomized controlled dietary interventions, found that a 20 percent reduction in red meat consumption did not reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and/or had no effect on adenoma recurrence in the large bowel. These studies were disregarded from the IARC review.

“Given the weak associations in human studies and lack of evidence in animal studies it is hard to reconcile the committee’s vote,” says nutritional toxicologist James Coughlin, PhD, CFS. “Of more than 900 items IARC has reviewed, including coffee, sunlight and night shift work, they have found only one ‘probably’ does not cause cancer according to their classification system.”

Coughlin, a toxicologist with more than 40 years of experience in meat and cancer, is critical of the IARC review process due to the lack of transparency, selective inclusion or exclusion of studies and broad interpretation of study results that are inconsistent with the conclusions of the study authors.

“In my experience as an observer to an IARC working group, the process typically involves scientists who have previously published research on the substance being reviewed and may have a vested interest in defending their own research” says Coughlin. “In the case of red and processed meat, the overall scientific evidence simply does not support their conclusion.”

–NCBA Press Release

Quality Beef from Quality Cattle Care | 10 Things To Know

Ed & David Fryer BQA at Castle Mountain RanchQuality beef comes from cattle who are well cared for and raised with a strong code of ethics and values. Ranchers providing that care are passionate and dedicated in what they do. Despite some reports from activists groups who use online forums to promote mistreatment of animals and solicit fund raising for their programs, cattle ranchers across the country devote significant time and resources to ensuring their livestock are cared for properly.

Beginning in the 1970s, cattle producers began to develop programs to evaluate, measure and ensure quality care for livestock and a safe beef supply. Today, that program has developed into the Beef Quality Assurance Program with guiding principles to establish standards for animal care.

  • WE BELIEVE production practices affect consumer acceptance of beef.
  • WE BELIEVE the BQA Program has and must continue to empower beef producers to improve the safety and wholesomeness of beef.
  • WE BELIEVE these fundamental principles are the fabricoftheBQA Program.
    1. Empowering people…because producers can make a difference.
    2. Taking responsibility…because it’s our job, not someone else’s.
    3. Working together…because product safety and wholesomeness is everyone’s business.
Beef Quality Assurance ProgramsCattle ranchers take pride in their responsibility to raising cattle, taking care of their land, and being good stewards of their resources. To suggest ranchers lack the proper values in raising safe, quality food, would be misleading. Thousands of cattle ranchers across the country participate in the Beef Quality Assurance programs which outline a Code of Cattle Care to ensure proper care and handling of livestock:
  1. Provide necessary food, water and care to protect the health and well-being of animals.
  2. Provide disease prevention practices to protect herd health, including access to veterinary care.
  3. Provide facilities that allow safe, humane, and efficient movement and/or restraint of cattle.
  4. Use appropriate methods to humanely euthanize terminally sick or injured livestock and dispose of them properly.
  5. Provide personnel with training/experience to properly handle and care for cattle.
  6. Make timely observations of cattle to ensure basic needs are being met.
  7. Minimize stress when transporting cattle.
  8. Keep updated on advancements and changes in the industry to make decisions based upon sound production practices and consideration for animal well-being.
  9. Persons who willfully mistreat animals will not be tolerated.

Want to hear from some of these ranchers? Take time to view interviews with Montana ranchers as they discuss their dedication to the livestock and the lifestyle by visiting our YouTube channel.

The Beef Quality Assurance Program outlines the minimum expectations of ranchers for cattle care and handling. To learn more about the program, visit BQA.org or contact your state’s coordinator. Learn more about Montana’s BQA program by visiting their Facebook page or by contacting Bill Pelton at (406) 671-5100 or by email at [email protected].

What questions do you have about Beef Quality Assurance? Leave a comment below or email [email protected]. This is part of a month-long series of 10 Things to Know about Cattle. To read other posts in the series, click the image below.

Click this image to view all posts in the 30-day blogging series, 10 Things to Know About Cattle

Click this image to view all posts in the 30-day blogging series, 10 Things to Know About Cattle

Beef Quality Assurance Programs

Beef Quality Assurance Program and Animal Welfare

Beef Quality Assurance ProgramsWhat is the Beef Quality Assurance program and what does it have to do with Animal Welfare standards for ranchers and cattle producers in the United States?

Beef Quality Assurance is a national program that provides guidelines for beef cattle production. The program raises consumer confidence through offering proper management techniques and a commitment to quality within every segment of the beef industry. Producers have embraced BQA because it is the right thing to do; but they have also gained through increased profitability. As an educating program, BQA helps producers identify management processes that can be improved.

Below is a bit of background information on the programs. For more on National BQA programs, visit BQA.org. For contact information in Montana, click here. For online BQA certification, click here.

History of the Beef Quality Assurance Program

The Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program was established in 1987 by The Beef Checkoff to provide cattle producers with the tools and training necessary to assure animal health and well-being as well as provide a safe, quality product. BQA is a pre-harvest supply chain management program that applies the latest science and technology to ensure beef quality and safety. It unites animal scientists, veterinarians, feed suppliers, animal health companies, meatpackers, retailers and state and federal regulators with producers to achieve this common goal.

BQA Certification Process

BQA encourages anyone who works regularly with cattle – on the farm, ranch or feedlot – to become BQA certified by one of nearly 100 state coordinators through hands-on, classroom-style and online training. BQA influences the management practices of more than 90 percent of U.S. cattle.

BQA Guidelines Relating to Animal Care and Husbandry

The BQA principals on cattle care and treatment are captured within the foundational document, the “Cattle Industry’s Guidelines for the Care and Handling of Cattle.” The “Cattle Industry’s Guidelines for the Care and Handling of Cattle” is based on the “Producer Code for Cattle Care.” The Code, first developed in 1996, is a comprehensive set of “must-dos” for proper cattle care that includes the following:

  • Provide adequate food, water and care to protect cattle health and well-being.
  • Provide disease prevention practices to protect herd health.
  • Provide facilities that allow safe and humane movement and/or restraint of livestock.
  • Use appropriate methods to euthanize sick or injured livestock.
  • Provide personnel with training to properly handle and care for cattle.
  • Minimize stress when transporting cattle.

The Code is clear on another important point: persons who willfully mistreat animals will not be tolerated.

In 2003, the beef industry expanded the Code into a best practices guide. Developed through the interaction of animal health and well-being experts and cattle producer leaders, the “Cattle Industry’s Guidelines for the Care and Handling of Cattle” sets forth recommendations for every aspect of cattle production and provides producers a self-evaluation checklist to help improve their production practices. The Guidelines include best-management practices for feeding and nutrition, disease prevention practices and health care, identification, shelter and housing, cattle handling, transportation, non-ambulatory cattle, euthanasia and heat stress.

BQA Acknowledges Leaders for Applying Best Practices

For the first time in 2008, a National BQA Award was established to reward leaders in the industry who exemplify BQA principles and share their outstanding individual practices with the broader industry. Two producers were awarded the National BQA Award in 2008.

New BQA Programs Address Livestock Auction Markets and Transportation

In 2008, every auction market in the country received the checkoff-funded BQA DVD “Focal Point: An Auction Market Beef Quality Assurance Guide,” which demonstrates best practices for facility design and handling techniques. Cattle handling experts also conducted hands-on staff training sessions at livestock markets.

BQA’s Master Cattle Transporter Training program, launched in 2008, recognizes that cattle transporters play a critical role in the health and welfare of cattle by delivering cattle safely to their destination. The program emphasizes low-stress handling, frequent cattle checks when on the road and special care when transporting cattle during hot or cold weather conditions. Additionally, the program specifies that moving aids should replace electric prods and sick or weak cattle shouldn’t be accepted for transport, including debilitated thin animals, “downers” and animals that show symptoms of sickness. The National Trucking Association encourages its members to comply with these guidelines.

For more information about the BQA program, please visit www.BQA.org. National BQA programs are funded in part by The Beef Checkoff.

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