No, Not Even in ‘Moderation’—New Study Confirms That Consuming Processed Meat Can Kill You

Think that eating “just a few slices of bacon” won’t hurt your health? Think again. A recent sweeping study confirms what health experts—and PETA—have been saying all along: There is no safe amount of processed meat consumption. That means that every bite of processed animal flesh ups your risk for serious health issues, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

A Side of Cancer With That Hot Dog?

Researchers reviewed more than 60 studies and found that consuming processed meats sharply raises your risk of deadly diseases. They also found that humans who ate just one hot dog a day had an 11% higher risk of type 2 diabetes and a 7% higher risk of colorectal cancer compared to those who ate none.

This new study adds to the mountain of research showing that flesh, eggs, and dairy are recipes for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. The science is clear: Eating animals harms your health.

On the other hand, studies have shown that healthy vegan foods—like whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables—can stop and even reverse heart disease. Vegans have fewer cardiac events, including heart attacks, strokes, bypass surgery, and angioplasty. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that vegetarians and vegans enjoy a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease, lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, and lower body mass indexes, as well as lower overall cancer rates.

ALL Animal-Based ‘Foods’ Are Processed

“Processed meat” isn’t just bacon and hot dogs. Think about it: There’s nothing “natural” about how farms and slaughterhouses turn animals’ bodies into packaged flesh. Selective breeding forces cows, pigs, and chickens to grow unnaturally fast or produce abnormally large quantities of milk or eggs at the expense of their own health. Workers frequently inject animals with hormones to boost milk production and routinely give animals used for their flesh, milk, and eggs antibiotics just to survive the filthy, crowded conditions of today’s farms.

Milk, eggs, and other animal-based “foods” also undergo heavy processing—from pasteurization and homogenization to the addition of synthetic vitamins to replace nutrients lost through unnatural farming practices.

On the other hand, even the most processed vegan foods—like plant-based burgers, nuggets, or cheeses—don’t come with the same health risks as meat, eggs, and dairy. They contain no cholesterol, are typically lower in saturated fat, and don’t rot inside your gut the way animal-based products can.

A Deadly Diet

Eating meat is bad for you—but it’s far worse for animals. Every slice of bacon or sausage link was once a thinking, feeling individual who did not want to be slaughtered for their flesh. Pigs are devoted mothers who “sing” to their babies while nursing. Cows form lifelong friendships and mourn their lost loved ones. In nature, chickens live in complex social hierarchies known as “pecking orders.” 

These sensitive individuals suffer immensely in the meat, dairy, and egg industries. Farms often confine them to filthy, feces-caked sheds, where they cannot raise families, root around in the soil, build nests, roam in the grass, or even breathe fresh air.

Their short, miserable existence ends at the slaughterhouse.

Eat For Your Health, the Planet, and Animals

Every individual who goes vegan can spare nearly 200 animals every year, significantly reduce their carbon footprint, and boost their health—all while enjoying a vast variety of tasty foods! If you’ve already made the compassionate switch, great! Now help someone else do it, too.

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