Medical journal asked to ditch ‘cancer-link’ study
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) has requested that ‘misleading content’ linking red meat to cancer and other fatal diseases be immediately removed from respected medical journal The Lancet, after leading scientists questioned the validity of its claims.
The 2020 study, compiled by scientists from the University of Washington, was followed by a supporting article from The Lancet in 2021. It claimed global deaths from eating red meat rose from just 25,000 in 2017 to 896,000 in 2019 – a 36-fold increase in two years.
But a group of international experts, led by Professor Alice Stanton, of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, has now challenged the original findings, branding the estimated increase as ‘implausible’ and the results as ‘questionable’.
John Thorley, chair of AIMS, said: “If the data in relation to red meat is inaccurate, it begs the question of how much of the rest of the report is also misleading.
The 2020 study, compiled by scientists from the University of Washington, was followed by a supporting article from The Lancet in 2021. It claimed global deaths from eating red meat rose from just 25,000 in 2017 to 896,000 in 2019 – a 36-fold increase in two years.
But a group of international experts, led by Professor Alice Stanton, of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, has now challenged the original findings, branding the estimated increase as ‘implausible’ and the results as ‘questionable’.
John Thorley, chair of AIMS, said: “If the data in relation to red meat is inaccurate, it begs the question of how much of the rest of the report is also misleading.
Jane Thynne / Farmers Guardian
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