Animal Products and Cancer Risk

Key points at a glance

Each year, around 2 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer. One-in-six deaths worldwide are from cancer, which makes it one of the world’s largest health problems.

Compared to 1975, the number of affected individuals has increased fivefold. The number of cancer deaths is still rising drastically. Currently, in the U.S. alone, about 51,000 people die from cancer per month.

Image source: National Cancer Institute

The role of animal products

Scientific studies show a link between the consumption of animal products and various types of cancer, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, testicular cancer, and colorectal cancer.

“Uptake of dairy products (...) is suggested to represent one of the main risk factors for the development of breast cancer.”
— zur Hausen et al. (2015)

“We found a positive association between milk consumption and prostate cancer.”
— Qin et al. (2004)

The World Health Organization classifies processed meat (hot dogs, bacon, ham, sausage, cold cuts) as Group 1 carcinogen — the same category as tobacco and asbestos.

All red meat (beef, pork, lamb) is classified as a probable cause of cancer. Similarly, chicken, eggs and dairy products have been linked to increased risk of cancer.

Protective effect of a plant-based diet

Following a healthy diet and lifestyle can prevent 40% of all cancer cases. Given the links between animal products and cancer risk, a plant-based diet is particularly effective for cancer prevention and survival.

“In research studies, vegans (…) appeared to have the lowest rates of cancer of any diet.”
— Fjeldberg (2022)

“Vegan diet seems to confer lower risk for overall and female-specific cancer than other dietary patterns.”
— Tantamango-Bartley et al. (2013)

Lower cancer risk is only one of a vast array of health benefits of switching to a plant-based diet.

A 2016 University of Oxford study estimates that vegan eating could avoid 8 million deaths per year — and save $1 trillion in annual healthcare expenses by 2050. To visualize this amount of money: It would take a military jet flying at the speed of sound, reeling out a roll of dollar bills behind it, 14 years before it reeled out one trillion dollar bills.

Breaking it down for you

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