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Cut red meat intake and don’t eat ham, say cancer researchers

World Cancer Research Fund advises people to limit consumption of beef, pork and lamb and avoid processed meatThis article titled “Cut red meat intake and don’t eat ham, say cancer researchers” was written by Denis Campbell, health correspondent, for The Guardian on Sunday 22nd May 2011 23.06 UTCCancer experts have issued a fresh warning about eating red and processed meat after “the most authoritative report” on the subject blamed them for causing the disease.The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) is advising people to limit their intake of red meats such as beef, pork and lamb, and to avoid processed meat such as ham and salami altogether. “Convincing evidence” that both types of meat increase the risk of bowel cancer means people should think seriously about reducing how much they eat, it recommends.The charity kickstarted a global debate in 2007 when it published a study which identified meat as a risk factor for a number of different forms of cancer.WCRF-funded scientists at Imperial College London led by Dr Teresa Norat studied 263 research papers that have come out since then looking at the role of diet, weight and physical activity in bowel cancer. An independent panel of leading cancer experts then reviewed their conclusions. “For red and processed meat, findings of 10 new studies were added to the 14 analysed as part of the 2007 report. The panel confirmed that there is convincing evidence that both red and processed meat increase bowel cancer risk,” said the report .“WCRF recommends that people limit consumption to 500g (cooked weight) of red meat a week – roughly the equivalent of five or six medium portions of roast beef, lamb or pork – and avoid processed meat,” it added. About 36,000 Britons a develop bowel cancer every year, and some 16,500 die from it. It is the UK’s second biggest cancer killer after lung cancer.About 17,000 cases a year (43%) could be prevented if people ate less meat and more fibre, drank less, maintained a healthy weight and kept active, the WCRF says.Its 850-page report, releasedon Monday, is “the most authoritative ever report of bowel cancer risk”, cancer prevention experts claim.Professor Alan Jackson of Southampton University, the chair of the WCRF’s continuous update project expert panel, said: “On meat, the clear message that comes out of our report is that red and processed meat increase risk of bowel cancer and that people who want to reduce their risk should consider cutting down the amount they eat.”Growing concern about red and processed meat prompted the government in February to advise consumers for the first time to consider cutting down. That came after the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), experts who advise the government, examined the evidence on the subject. It decided that those meats probably increase the risk of bowel cancer.People who eat 90g or more a day should cut down to the UK average of 70g, SACN recommended. It advised having smaller portions or eating those meats less often. A 70g serving could be three slices of ham, a lamb chop or two standard beef burgers.WCRF’s review has also firmed up from “probable” to “convincing” its view of the protection against bowel cancer afforded by eating foods containing fibre, such as wholegrains, pulses, fruit and vegetables.Milk, garlic and dietary supplements containing calcium also “probably” reduce the risk, the expert panel concluded.But farmers’ leaders denounced the WCRF’s new report and accused it of deliberately choosing the first day of National Vegetarian Week to publish it in order to maximise publicity for conclusions which the charity first reached years ago.Chris Lamb, a spokesman for BPEX and EBLEX, which represents England’s pig, beef and lamb farmers, said: “Average consumption has been in or around 500g a week for a few years. The vast majority of consumers aren’t exceeding this and don’t have to worry about [this]“, he said.The risks identified by the WCRF were unchanged, he stressed.Lamb argued it was unfair for the WCRF to highlight meat as a contributory cause of bowel cancer when the main risk was to people who are generally unhealthy, for example by consuming too much food, alcohol or fizzy drink.“They aren’t assisting consumers. Consumers eat and enjoy meat as part of a balanced diet, and meat plays a valuable part in that balanced diet”, said Lamb. “If you eat or drink anything in excess it’s a danger. Therefore, if you can pick on meat in order to get headlines, then you aren’t actually helping consumers.”Professor Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer for England, said red meat can form part of a healthy, balanced diet. “It is a good source of protein and vitamins and minerals, such as iron, selenium, zinc and B vitamins,” she said, “but people who eat a lot of red and processed meat should consider cutting down. The occasional steak or extra few slices of lamb is fine but regularly eating a lot could increase your risk of bowel cancer.”Bowel Cancer UK chief executive Deborah Alsina said: “The report significantly adds to the available evidence into the increased risk of bowel cancer from eating too much red and processed meat; and strengthens the evidence of how eating food with fibre in it protects people against the disease.Hazel Nunn, a senior health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: “With barbeque season just round the corner, this is a timely reminder that how much alcohol you drink, how active you are, your weight, and how much red and processed meat and fibre you eat can all have a bearing on your risk of bowel cancer.”• Growing numbers of lung cancer patients are having life-saving operations thanks to advances in surgical techniques. The proportion of patients with the disease who undergo surgery has risen from one in 11 in 2005 to one in seven last year, according to a study by the NHS Information Centre. Lung cancer kills more people than any other form of cancer. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogCut red meat intake and don’t eat ham, say cancer researchersRelated posts:Alcohol to blame for 13,000 cancer cases a year in UKTurkey Ham?World Development Report: Why no mention of Paris?

May 23 2011, 4:36am | Comments »

Goldman Sachs CEO’s pay nearly doubles despite slump in profits

Goldman Sachs‘ chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, epitomises the unacceptable face of international finance capital. And he takes home $9m more for a year in which the bank‘s profits dropped 38%

This article titled “Goldman Sachs CEO’s pay nearly doubles despite slump in profits” was written by Andrew Clark, for The Observer on Saturday 2nd April 2011 12.12 UTC An era of bonus “restraint” at Goldman Sachs came to a shuddering halt as the Wall Street bank almost doubled the pay package of its chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, to $18.6m (£11.5m) for 2010 in spite of a slump in profits. Blankfein, 56, who once quipped that his firm does “God’s work”, received share awards of $12.6m on top of a $5.4m performance-related cash bonus, and a salary of $600,000. He also received additional benefits worth $464,000, according to a filing by Goldman at the Securities and Exchange Commission. The postal worker’s son from Brooklyn became a lightning rod for controversy over the banking industry’s excesses during the financial crisis. Goldman was obliged to pay $550m in July to settle fraud charges laid by US prosecutors over the alleged mis-selling of toxic mortgage-related derivatives. Blankfein described being hit by the charges as “one of the worst days in my professional life”. Blankfein’s pay was still far below the record $68m that he received for 2007, before the credit crunch began to bite. But his earnings are almost double last year’s $9.8m – when Goldman declared it was exercising “restraint” in response to public and political pressure over the size of bonuses. “The fact that they would return to a more market-based pay is probably not surprising,” Rose Marie Orens, a senior partner at Compensation Advisory Partners in New York, told Bloomberg News. “They’re not quite back to anything remotely like what they paid in prior years.” It was the first time in three years that Goldman paid a cash bonus to Blankfein. His top lieutenants – including chief financial officer David Viniar and chief operating officer Gary Cohn – got identical $5.4m payouts. This was despite a 38% drop in profits to $7.71bn due to a sharp fall in income from trading and investment banking. Goldman is renowned for being the most hard-driving bank on Wall Street. It has a fiercely competitive ethos but rewards its employees better than any of its rivals. Unlike other top banks, it sensed the imminent implosion in US mortgages in 2007 and heavily hedged its position to protect itself against the credit crunch. Its bonus pool, shared by 35,700 employees worldwide,, including 5,000 in London, amounted to $15.3bn this year – equivalent to nearly $430,000 per person. Blankfein’s remuneration comfortably outstrips the £6.5m bonus paid to Barclays’ chief executive Bob Diamond, who is the highest-paid of Britain’s banking chiefs. In a sign of Goldman’s culture of rewards, even Blankfein’s driver appears to have done well – the bank paid out $185,110 for the CEO’s car and chauffeur, more than double last year’s figure. And Blankfein’s son, also at Goldman, was paid $170,000.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

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April 2 2011, 2:56pm | Comments »

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Cut red meat intake and don’t eat ham, say cancer researchers

Goldman Sachs CEO’s pay nearly doubles despite slump in profits

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