It’s a SciComm Takeover Post! Stage 3 Biochemist Jon Hancox has been chewing down on a particularly meaty topic as part of his BMS3016 Science Communication studies…
To those of us without a great knowledge of English philosophy, this title is a quote from Francis Bacon, who served as both Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England in the 1500’s. You may be wondering what the relevance of this is. I actually stumbled upon this quote while looking into the health effects and newly found carcinogenic – that is, cancer causing – properties of (you guessed it) bacon.
My personal favourite pork product has been in the news recently as the World Health Organisation (WHO) have stated that it, along with other processed meats, can cause cancer. This has sparked sensational headlines in the media such as “Banger out of order” (The Sun) and “Save our Bacon: The Butty Battle” (also The Sun), but is it really killing us?
The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has published a report claiming that a 50 gram portion of processed meat (less than 2 rashers of bacon) every day will increase the risk of bowel cancer by 18%, but it isn’t the actual meat that is increasing our risk, it’s the addition of certain chemicals during processing. The IARC has placed processed meats in the group 1 carcinogens, deeming it to be as dangerous as tobacco and alcohol, but also arsenic poison and asbestos. Red meat has been categorised as group 2A, alongside anabolic steroids and, surprisingly, being a hairdresser or working night shifts. I think one of the main issues here is actually the categorisation of these harmful substances, how can arsenic be as dangerous as a sausage?
You’ll be glad to hear that removing bacon from your diet entirely is not necessary, as Professor Tim Key from Cancer Research UK has explained “Eating a bacon bap every once in a while isn’t going to do much harm – having a healthy diet is all about moderation.”
So in the words of Francis Bacon, it is impossible to love and to be wise. As wise as it may be to give up bacon, it is simply impossible, as I love it too much.