Red and processed meat responsible for sharp global rise in diet-related deaths

 By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Red and processed meat - such as bacon, sausages and burgers - are responsible for a "sharp" global rise in diet-related deaths, according to a new study.

A worldwide increase in processed meat consumption over the last 30 years is linked to tens of thousands more deaths from preventable illnesses related to what people eat - such as bowel cancer, say scientists.

The impact has been greatest in Europe plus island nations in the Caribbean and Oceania, according to the findings published by BMJ Global Health.

Health policies should be integrated with agricultural and trade policies among importing and exporting nations "as a matter of urgency" to reduce further preventable deaths, say the researchers.

They explained that the global red and processed meat trade has risen "exponentially" over the last three decades to meet demand created by factors including continuous urbanisation and income growth,.

But the trend has implications for the environment because of the impact it has on land use and biodiversity loss.

And high red and processed meat consumption is linked to a heightened risk of non-communicable diseases - particularly bowel cancer, diabetes, and coronary artery heart disease.

The research team wanted to discover what impact the red and processed meat trade might be having on diet-related non-communicable disease trends - and which nations might be particularly vulnerable.

They drew on meat production and trade figures from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) from 1993 to 2018 for 154 countries, focusing on 14 red meat items derived from beef, pork, lamb and goat, and six processed primarily beef and pork items, preserved by smoking, salting, curing, or chemicals.

They then calculated deaths and years of life lived with disability (DALYs) attributable to diet as a result of bowel cancer, type 2 diabetes, and coronary artery heart disease among those aged 25 and over in each country.

Study author Dr. Min Gon Chung, of Michigan State University, explained that the worldwide red and processed meat trade increased by more than 148 percent from 10 metric tonnes in 1993-5 to nearly 25 metric tonnes in 2016-18, while in the same period net importing countries rose from 121 to 128.

"Developed countries in Europe accounted for half of total red and processed meat exports in 1993–95 and 2016–18," Chung said.

"But developing countries in South America - such as Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay - made up nearly 10 percent in 2016–18, up from around five per cent in 1993–5.

"Developing countries also increased their meat imports by 342.5 percent from two metric tonnes in 1993–5 to nearly nine metric tonnes in 2016–18; developed countries doubled theirs from eight metric tonnes to 16.

"Diet related attributable death and DALY rates associated with the global meat trade rose in three-quarters of the 154 countries between 1993-5 and 2016-18."

Worldwide, the researchers calculated that increases in red and processed meat consumption, aligned to increases in trade, accounted for 10,898 attributable deaths in 2016–18, an increase of almost 75 percent on the figures for 1993-5.

"The global meat trade contributed to increases of 55 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively, in attributable deaths and DALYs in developed countries between 1993-5 and 2016-18," Chung said.

"The equivalent figures in developing countries were significantly higher: 137 percent and 140 percent, respectively, largely as a result of increased demand for meat, prompted by rapid urbanization and income growth."

Between 1993– 2018, island nations in the Caribbean and Oceania and countries in Northern and Eastern Europe became "particularly vulnerable" to diet-related disease and deaths associated with large meat imports, according to the researchers.

Chung said: "The island nations have limited land for meat production, so depend heavily on meat imports, while many of the European countries - such as Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia - benefited from regional trade agreements and tariff exemptions after joining the European Union in 2003-4, which accelerated meat imports."

In 1993–5, the top 10 countries with the highest proportion of deaths attributable to red meat consumption included Tonga, United Arab Emirates, Barbados, Fiji, Gabon, Bahamas, Greece, Malta, Brunei and Saint Lucia.

In 2016–2018, the top 10 included The Netherlands, Bahamas, Tonga, Denmark, Antigua and Barbuda, Seychelles, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Croatia and Greece.

"The meat trade in these countries accounted for more than seven per cent of all deaths attributable to diets high in both red and processed meat in 2016-18," Chung said.

"The trends in attributable DALYs more or less mirrored those for attributable deaths.

"Attributable death and DALY rates associated with global meat trade fell in 34 countries between 1993–5 and 2016–18. But this was partly due to population growth exceeding increases in meat imports in 24 countries, while domestic meat production increased in 19.

"In more than a half of these countries the absolute number of diet-related deaths and DALYs rose in tandem with increased meat consumption between 1993-5 and 2016-18.

"And some countries - including Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Germany - increasingly acted as net meat exporters, changing their land use, with consequent biodiversity loss."

The researchers acknowledged that many countries import and process red meat items for export, which may have skewed their findings.

But Chung added: “This study shows that global increases in red and processed meat trade contribute to the abrupt increase of diet-related non-communicable diseases.

"Future interventions need to urgently integrate health policies with agricultural and trade policies by cooperating between responsible exporting and importing countries.”