A NEW STUDY at the University of Oxford asserts that high meat consumption is not only bad for the health of our planet but also for the general health of the population. Commissioned by the environmental network — Friends of the Earth — the study estimates that switching to diets that contain no more than three meat meals each week could prevent around 45,000 early deaths in the UK and save it’s health service, the NHS, £1.2 billion each year.
Researchers analysed the health implications of a range of dietary options in the UK and concluded that lower-meat diets could cut deaths from heart disease by around 31,000, deaths from cancer by 9,000 and deaths from strokes by 5,000 each year. Friends of the Earth’s director of policy and campaigns, Craig Bennett said, “We don’t need to go vegetarian to look after ourselves and our planet — but we do need to cut down on meat. The study also reports a clear evidence of a link between meat-heavy diets and severe health problems like bowel cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
Countries with developing economies like India are only just integrating with these westernised diets. The demand for meat is growing as a result of rising incomes and growing urban middle class. India’s meat consumption has grown 40 per cent in the 50 years to 2007. Speaking to this newspaper, on of the researchers, Dr Pete Scarborough, said, “As developing countries move towards more urbanised lifestyles, their diets are being westernised increasingly. Even though such a trend might seem to neutralise malnutrition problems, risk of chronic diseases is amassing in countries like India and China.”