Red meat increases the risk of death

Bad news for meat eaters! Eating red meat increases the likelihood of dying from most major causes, while eating white meat instead reduces the risk, a study of more than half a million people published in The BMJ indicates.

The chances of dying from cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, infections, kidney disease, or liver disease all increased in line with red meat consumption.

The strongest association eating red meat was death from chronic liver disease, which more than doubled in people with the highest intake.

In an editorial, John Potter, professor of epidemiology at Massey University in New Zealand, said that contemporary meat consumption is equally bad for the planet and for human health.

The destruction of rainforest for farming animals, and greenhouse gases from animals, contribute more to climate change than fossil fuels for transport, he wrote.