The Cancer Project Launches Major Processed Meat Campaign
Schools should stop serving hot dogs and other processed meats because even small amounts increase the risk of adult cancer, says a provocative new commercial airing on TV stations around the country. The spot is produced by the Cancer Project, an affiliate of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
The Cancer Project is launching a major campaign to educate the public about the cancer risk found in hot dogs and other processed meats. The campaign includes a provocative new national TV commercial, a survey of processed meat found in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, and a grassroots effort to reform federal food policy.
The Cancer Project’s campaign is based on a comprehensive report released late last year by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund. After reviewing all existing data on nutrition and cancer risk, researchers concluded that processed meat increases one’s risk of colorectal cancer, on average, by 21 percent for every 50 grams consumed daily. (A 50-gram serving is approximately the size of a typical hot dog.) The landmark report clearly states that no amount of processed meat is considered safe to eat.
Each year, 160,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer. About half of all cases are already incurable when found. Approximately 50,000 Americans are expected to die of the disease this year.
This summer, The Cancer Project debuted a new 30-second television ad based on the report. “Protect Our Kids” features three children at an elementary school who describe their lives from the perspective of adults with cancer. The ad intersperses their stories with shots of hot dogs, deli meats, and other unhealthy foods so often found on school lunch lines.
"Cancer risk starts early," says Neal Barnard, M.D., president of the Cancer Project. "If we don't protect our kids by removing hot dogs, sausages, and deli slices, and pepperoni from our schools, we're stacking the cards against them. Lifetime cancer risk is already one in three for women and one in two for men. Given the terrible eating habits of so many American children, we're setting them up for even worse odds down the road."
As with tobacco, the cancer risk associated with processed meats seems to increase with long-term exposure, so processed meat consumption that begins in childhood poses a profound concern.
The Cancer Project is currently campaigning to reform the federal Child Nutrition Act, up for renewal in 2009, which determines what foods are served in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture currently includes processed meats in the lists of commodity foods available to schools.
A new Cancer Project survey of 29 U.S. school districts shows that many school menus are packed with processed meats. All breakfasts offered in Minneapolis elementary, middle, and high schools, for example, contain sausage and other processed meats. The same is true for all regular breakfasts offered in Philadelphia schools.
Sixty percent of all elementary school breakfasts, 80 percent of all middle school breakfasts, and 80 percent of all high school breakfasts in the Los Angeles Unified School District contain processed meats. Half of all elementary and middle school breakfasts in the Chicago Public Schools offer processed meats, as do 100 percent of its high school meals. Eighty-eight percent of breakfasts in D.C. middle and high schools contain processed meats.
School districts with the most processed meat at lunch include Atlanta, Chicago; Clark County, Nevada; Prince George's County, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; Hancock, West Virginia; New York City; and Detroit.
The Child Nutrition Act, which determines what foods are served in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, is up for reauthorization next year. The USDA is holding these listening sessions around the country. Cancer Project and PCRM representatives are asking for various improvements to the program, including more vegetarian foods, equal reimbursement for nondairy beverages as for cow’s milk, and a removal of processed meats from the list of commodities available to schools.
If you are a parent, teacher, student, or concerned citizen who wants to see processed meats removed from your local school, please get involved in our campaign. Contact Caitlin Breen at 202-686-2210, ext. 325, or cbreen@pcrm.org.
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