Press release
NHS advises people to eat less red and processed meat
25 February 2011
Commenting on new nutritional advice released today by the Department of Health, which recommends that people who eat lots of red and processed meat cut their daily intake in order to reduce the risk of bowel cancer, Friends of the Earth's food campaigner Helen Rimmer said:
"Eating less red and processed meat is a win-win for our health and for the planet we all depend on.
"As well as putting us more at risk of bowel cancer, our meat-filled diets are a major contributor to climate change and the destruction of rainforests in South America - with trees being felled to grow animal feed for factory farms in Europe.
"The Government's recommendations do not go far enough - to have a healthy, planet-friendly diet we should eat meat no more than three times a week, cut down on dairy, and choose local, organic meat where possible."
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The Government's advice can be found at:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/red-meat.aspx - Last year, research by Oxford University and commissioned by Friends of the Earth showed that cutting meat consumption to no more than three meals a week could save 45,000 early deaths. Friends of the Earth's 'Healthy Planet Eating' report is available at: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/healthy_planet_eating.pdf
- For more information on the environmental and social impacts of the meat and dairy sector, see Friends of the Earth's report 'What's Feeding Our Food': http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/livestock_impacts.pdf
- Friends of the Earth's Food Chain Campaign is calling on the Government to boost UK farming and support healthy, rainforest-free food. For more information see www.fixthefoodchain.com.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Feb 2011
