 |
In the past year, red meat has been listed on World Health Organization’s class-one carcinogen list. This means that there is very strong evidence that red meat may lead to an increased risk in cancer in those who consume it.
In the latest Journal of Internal Medicine, published in August 2016, Alicia Wolk reports some alarming information . 
Red meat refers to any muscle meat from mammals such as beef, veal, pork, horse and goat.
Although red meat has been proven to provide many important proteins and amino acids, even more chemicals found in the product is harmful to our bodies.
Carcinogenic chemicals form once a piece of raw meat is cooked or smoked.
Wolk states that up to 55 percent of meat that is processed in America contains polychlorinated biphenyls. These chemicals are additives that result from the antibiotics and hormones cattle are pumped with during production.
But what if it’s from home?
Often the concept of locally grown meat has been widely accepted as a healthy alternative to red meat that is imported.
“The animals are harvested off our grass-fed beef so they are able to survive on our land with minimal input into them,” says an Oroville farmer of Chaffin family farm. “This is the way we are able to produce the most environmentally friendly and nutrient-dense meat that we can.”
Chaffin raises cattle and livestock for the north state and claims that its red meat contains more health benefits than the risk of toxins. It is proven to be high in Omega 3’s and Vitamin A & D according to the Journal of Internal Medicine.
Chico State has its own farm where it raises cattle that are put through a very strict labelling process. According to its website. Two different label requirements must be met before the meat can be sold. The first label would be a nutritional label, which involves a laboratory analysis of the beef. The second is an animal production label that is specific to guidelines the farm must abide by. This protocol is only used for grass-fed cattle.
Kasey Deatley, assistant professor in the College of Agriculture, is surprised to be asked about carcinogens that may be present in cattle or pork.
Kasey Deatley, assistant professor in the College of Agriculture, is surprised to be asked about carcinogens that may be present in cattle or pork.
“We take a lot of precautions to make sure the meat is safe, but I would have to do more research to see what chemicals that could possibly cause cancer (are) it.”
But Kenzie Chock, a graduate student from Chico State’s health department, argues that it doesn’t matter if red meat is locally grown or grass-fed.
“It’s all the same,” said Chock. “Although red meat is a quick protein punch, it’s not healthy. There have been so many links between cancer and red meat and we are still ignoring it. I’m not even sure if farmers are actually unaware of the dangers of red meat or just choose to not inform us.”