According to the Canadian political news outlet iPolitics , the Canadian government will continue to fund a United Nations research agency that issued a controversial warning linking meat consumption to cancer.





Last year, the United Nations placed processed meats in the same category of cancer risk as asbestos and smoking cigarettes, making headlines around the world. As you can imagine, this really shook up the meat industry.





The WHO's cancer research unit now classifies processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans” based on evidence from hundreds of studies, and linked it specifically to colon, or colorectal, cancer. The report outlined that simply eating 50 grams of processed meat each day — the equivalent of two slices of ham — can increase the risk of such cancer by 18%.





The WHO estimates that diets high in processed meats cause 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide and reports that even unprocessed red meats like beef, veal, lamb, and pork are “probably carcinogenic.”





In September, members of the Canadian Meat Council asked the health minister to stop funding for the department of the UN’s World Health Organization that conducted the research.





Earlier this week the country’s health minister, Jane Philpott, released a statement asserting that she would not stop the funding, and that the department provides “valuable information.”





We applaud the minister’s decision, and hope the United Nations continues to expose the true health risks associated with consuming animal products.





It’s clear the best way to protect your health is to commit to a plant-based diet. The decision to eat vegan not only benefits your health, but also helps animals who live tortured lives on factory farms.



