Doctors’ groups have called on the government to withdraw a “misleading” campaign encouraging people to eat meat and dairy, warning it contains “a high level of misinformation”.
The Let’s Eat Balanced drive is run by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), which is funded by farmers and other food suppliers and comes under the wing of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
The annual campaign targets people trying to cut down on their intake of meat and animal products, with adverts promoting beef, lamb and dairy.
The campaign website claims that beef, pork, lamb and dairy are natural sources of protein and vitamin B12, and that British meat and dairy are “among the most sustainable in the world, and are produced to world-class food and farming standards”.
“In a world filled with dietary trends and fads, our campaign embraces an inclusive perspective on achieving a balanced diet,” it says.
But the Doctors Association UK and the Plant-Based Health Professionals (PBHP) UK organization have warned that the campaign’s aims are “at odds with established scientific evidence” on healthy diets and have called for the government to retract it.
A letter from the two organizations highlights links between red meat and cancer and type 2 diabetes, warning: “Your health claims are disingenuous.”
The letter, from Dr Matt Lee, Doctors Association’s sustainability lead, and Dr Shireen Kassam, director of PBHP, warns Defra and the board that the campaign “flies in the face of the scientific evidence and the government’s own guidelines, which clearly demonstrate the need to shift away from animal farming and transition to a plant-based food system”.
It points to a modeling study by the charity Office of Health Economics that found a “plant-based by default” approach could save the NHS £74m a year and highlights estimate that if England alone adopted a completely plant-based diet, it would save the NHS £18.8 billion a year.
The letter says: “No other intervention can deliver such significant health benefits alongside cost savings and environmental benefits.”
The letter is also endorsed by the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, and nine other nutrition and health experts and doctors. Together, the organizations represent more than a million health professionals.
The World Health Organisation has classified processed meats including ham, bacon and salami as carcinogens – something known to cause cancer. Eating processed meat increases the risk of bowel cancer, it says, and even just two rashers of bacon a day pushes up the risk.
