WHO says processed meats cause cancer; Will you still eat bacon?

Experts from around the globe have now confirmed that there’s a link, albeit small, between eating processed meats and cancer. But don’t expect KIRO Radio’s Don O’Neill to sweat it too much.

“As soon as I saw bacon on the list, I just didn’t want to hear the reports anymore,” Don said. “I just turned off the television set.”

There are plenty of people who aren’t happy about Monday’s report from The World Health Organization that said processed meats such as hot dogs, ham and bacon raise the risk of colon and stomach cancer, and that consuming red meat is probably harmful, too.

An international panel of experts evaluated more than 800 studies and found that eating approximately 1.75 ounces of meat – approximately the equivalent of a hot dog or a few slices of bologna – can increase the risk of colorectal cancer over a lifetime by about 18 percent. The panel found “sufficient evidence” that processed meats could cause cancer, with the report placing the beloved meats into the Group 1 category, which holds substances that includes alcohol, asbestos and tobacco smoke. Experts have said that those items don’t all share the same level of hazard and that most people should not be overly worried about the risk increase.

After repeatedly screaming “I want my bacon,” Don said he wasn’t willing to buy into the idea that a day at the grill is as bad as puffing a cigarette.

“There is no way, unless you are eating meat three times a day that it is as bad as smoking,” he said.

Ron, meanwhile, tried to look at the report and its 18 percent from a positive perspective.

“They say it raises your risk of cancer up 18 percent,” he said. “Which means that you are still 82 percent favored to not get cancer is the way I’m looking at it.”

Ron, who recently tried to switch off between meat and non-meat meals each day, asked Don if a life without meat is better or worse than an 18 percent chance of getting cancer.

Don said he doesn’t want to change his own ways, but his family is a different story.

“I do have to think about my son, though, because he loves bacon, he loves sausage, he loves-loves salami,” Don said.

“Why wouldn’t he,” Ron responded. “He is an O’Neill, it’s in your DNA.”

Ron said the key is to follow the “Ron and Don Golden Rule:” Eat what you want, but just not every day.

Don: And dance like no one is watching and work like you don’t need the money.

Ron: And put bacon on it.