Cutting meat consumption may cause serious harm academics warn
Linking the hot topics of diet, health and protein consumption, this story questioned the link between meat eating as part of a healthy diet and the development of Western diseases.
Research published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition contended there are a wide range of benefits delivered by meat that are not always easily obtained from plant materials.
A large reduction in meat consumption, such as has been advocated by the EAT-Lancet Commission, could therefore ‘produce serious harm’, according to academics.
“Although meat has been a central component of the diet of our lineage for millions of years, some nutrition authorities—who often have close connections to animal rights activists or other forms of ideological vegetarianism, are promoting the view that meat causes a host of health problems and has no redeeming value,” wrote Frédéric Leroy and Nathan Cofnas.
“Meat has long been, and continues to be, a primary source of high-quality nutrition. The theory that it can be replaced with legumes and supplements is mere speculation.”