NOW online, the WFO Scientific Council synopsis paper showing the positive contribution of unprocessed red meat intake to balanced diets.
Rome, Italy, July 7, 2021 – The Scientific Council of the World Farmers’ Organisation announced the official launch of the synopsis paper “Consumption of Unprocessed Red Meat Is Not a Risk to Health” on the occasion of the Science Days for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021.
Collating five significant, recent and broad-scale scientific investigations on the health risks and health benefits of red meat consumption, the WFO Scientific Council synopsis paper indicates that there is no convincing scientific evidence for assertions about the harmful health effects of unprocessed red meat intake. On the contrary, as far as the scientific evidence goes, consumption of unprocessed red meat at today’s common levels should be encouraged as a significant source of dense and readily bio-available proteins, essential micro-nutrients and critically important bioactive substances and as part of an overall balanced diet combining different food groups.
Dr Peer Ederer, main editor for the science collaborators on the synopsis: “When primary data on red meat consumption are analyzed with validated methods and in a transparent way according to the highest scientific standards, the result is always the same: intake of unprocessed red meat poses no risk to general health and provides valuable nutrition benefits.”
Dr Theo de Jager, WFO President: ” From a farmer’s perspective, it is of utmost importance that all solutions and policies are solidly science-based. This is the only way we can ensure that they will still be valid in the future. This synopsis paper shows that livestock farming is a pivotal solution for Sustainable Food Systems and that unprocessed red meat is a key component of balanced diets.”
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ABOUT THE WFO SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL
The WFO Scientific Council is an independent scientific body composed of 15 scientists, experts and professors from across the globe to equip WFO with the best scientific advice to enhance further the science-sound perspectives of the farmers’ voice in the international debate around agriculture and food systems.