No! I want my burgers and my breasts!

Fuck it. Life without red meat is meaningless. BTW, Elephant & Castle, just down the street from Corner Bistro, also makes a mean burger--and you can actually sit down.

It doesn't really seem like that big a deal... just eat in moderation. (Of course, I don't like red meat, and rarely eat it.)

I'd like to know what the actual cause is, though. My bets are on those evil growth hormones.

I think the study was seeing an increased risk with women who ate red meet FIVE OR MORE times per week. That's a lot. I love red meat, but on a student budget, it's definitely not happening more than once a week. Those cigarettes on the other hand- they have got to go.

I agree with Nancy, more or less. I love red meat and I'm not going to stop eating it. Bah. Yet another way to blame the victim, I mean patient.

Golden Plump chickens and chicken breasts are prepared without hormones or antibiotics and can be purchased in a lot of big supermarket chains. Organic beef is more expensive, but most is prepared without these as well although you need to research the particular farm to confirm their practices. In the midwest it's very easy to find thi type of beef. Is it hard to find in NYC?

One more reason vegan is the way to go!

Did they do any kind of controls with traditional, hormone-laden beef vs. organic, non-treated beef? I'm sure that has some kind of effect and it seems irresponsible to do a study saying "red meat is bad" when it could just be the added hormones that are bad.

Aw, I read this right after I returned from the Shake Shack. It's sooo goood.

This is a retroactive study, so there are no controls. While the specific cause is unknown, the findings are very specific. The research team never says "red meat is bad", it says

The risk increased with the amount of red meat consumed, with those who ate more than 1 1/2 servings a day of beef, lamb or pork having nearly double the risk of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer compared with those who ate three or fewer servings per week. A serving is roughly equivalent to a single hamburger or hot dog.

The emphasis on young women in the blurb is misleading. Because it's a retrospective study based on long-term data collected from nurses, they can't say anything about the effects of eating meat in childhood, for example. They were looking at premenopausal cancers, so an upward age limit of about 50 applies.

Another way to think about the study is in terms of other risks you take - for example, smoking. If the increased breast cancer risk is much lower than the increased lung cancer risk due to smoking, you should ask yourself, "Would I stop smoking to reduce that risk?". Unless it's much easier for you to stop eating red meat than to stop smoking, you don't really need to bother.

Disclaimer: I am not liable to any deaths that might result from taking my advice.

FTW,

Since when did recommending a healthy diet become synonymous with blaming the victim?

It is possible for people to do things that destroy their health that they are every bit to blame for. I'm not saying that people need to do anything that's not right for them, but providing information about the health consequences of doing so should not be considered to be "blaming the victim."

However, I'd also like to see what the results would be if a controlled study was done with hormone and antibiotic free meat. Too bad organic meat is prohibitively expensive for most people.

Since retroactive studies with no control groups and no way to distinguish correlation from causation became "breast cancer linked to red meat." I can't speak for anyone else, but I've been more and more irritated and disturbed by the myopic scientific focus on individual behaviors to the exclusion of larger social/economic trends. Every single doctor I've ever talked to is convinced that the rise of asthma has to do with air pollution, but that doesn't make the news half as fast as "don't eat red meat!!!!"

Just like feminism is based in respect, so is vegetarianism. Killing animals for food, when people do not need them for nutrition (as opposed to a true carnivore) is based in tradition and convenience. Neither are justifyable reasons to hurt something (although I give a lot of slack to those who have no meatless option available). The world is not for our pillaging, just because "it tastes good." These are real beings with real nerves who can feel real pain. Count me out.

hendmik,
I'm no dietician, but I have been through extensive treatment for an eating disorder, and I can tell you that there are at least some circumstances where consuming meat IS a biological and medical necessity. As my body has recovered, I now eat a very minimal amount of meat and am very mindful and grateful for the meat I do consume. I *do* like meat, but I still wish I didn't need it. I guess I would just say that while my heart is vegetarian (and when my mind and body permit, I will return to being full vegetarian), I also recognize that not everyone can economically or physically afford to be a vegetarian. I do hope we can get to a point as a global society where our dependence on animal products is very greatly reduced, and where those animals that we do raise for food are treated more humanely. I have read The Sexual Politics of Meat, and would recommend it to anyone interested in exploring the connection between feminism and meat-eating.
I would put a little bug out there about WIC limitations on organic meat and dairy. I think in my state, you can't use WIC (basically, food assistance for women/infants/children) for organic dairy EVEN IF it's less expensive than the convential. I think that is a huge disservice and would love to see some activism around that issue.

"people do not need them for nutrition"

Speak for yourself, hendmik. I doubt you have half the insight into my body's nutritional needs that I do.

Yes exactly! And who are you to tell me I am not a "true carnivore"?

isfa - I've heard the "people can't economically afford to be vegetarians" argument before and it really holds no weight. Yes it is expensive to buy fake ham, fake sausage, fake bacon, etc... but a can of beans is MUCH cheaper than a package of hot dogs. Economically, eating meat is a luxury.

But don't worry carnivores, you're not alone... apparently eating too much soy causes liver cancer, thyroid cancer and a host of other cancers, as well as being filled with estrogen-like compounds that mess up your hormones... so I guess we're all fucked. :)

Well, I guess the ultimate lesson is that everyone dies of something, eventually.