The World Health Organization recently published a report saying that processed meat increases the risk of cancer, earning the scorned criticisms from meat lovers; as a result, hashtags #FreeBacon, #Bacongeddon and #JeSuisBacon on Tuesday became worldwide trending topics on Twitter, Reuters reported.
On Monday, WHO released a report that processed meat are carcinogenic to humans and produces the same effect as alcohol and cigarette. The report said that hotdogs, sausages and bacon can cause colorectal (bowel) cancer in humans. Red meat, accordingly, may also be a likely cause of cancer.
The report added that eating 50 grams of processed meat daily (equivalent to one sausage or two slices of bacon) increases risk of bowel cancer by 18 percent. And eating 100 grams of fresh red meat (like beef, lamb and pork) daily increases risk of cancer by 17 percent. Aside from bowel cancer, eating processed meat may also cause pancreatic and prostate cancer.
The study is a result of the examination of 80 studies done by WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer during a meeting this month attended by 22 health experts.
Forbes, in its report, however noted that just because tobacco and processed meat are both classified in 'Group 1 carcinogenic to humans' does not mean that both are comparable. "Different carcinogens aren't comparable," Forbes wrote. The effects depend on dose.
The study solicited negative criticisms among experts and the public and on Twitter, according to Reuters, negative tweets outnumbered the positive by a ratio of nearly 7 to 1 on Monday and 6.5 to 1 on Tuesday. To generate the sentiment score (ratio), analysts used a tool to track positive, neutral and negative tweets using hashtags #cancer and #bacon, and then accumulating them.
Kenneth Cole, world famous fashion designer, tweeted on Tuesday: "Sugar is bad for you, Carbs are bad for you, and now so is #Bacon, but don't worry about it, because that's bad for you too. #IfTheShoeFits"
