Ban smoking – ban meat eating

Writing on theguardian.com on Saturday, David Seedhouse asked how the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) could sensibly ban cigarettes as a known health hazard while simultaneously promoting meat.

Seedhouse pointed out that the World Health Organization ranked bacon, ham and sausages alongside smoking as a cause of cancer, placing processed meats in the same carcinogenic category as asbestos, alcohol and arsenic.

He said that the World Cancer Research Fund advised eating cured meats as little as possible – ideally not at all.

And he said there was persuasive evidence that, compared to eating a solely plant-based diet, eating meat shortened life and made people sicker and fatter.

Against this background, the NHS allowed fast food chains in its hospitals and patient menus offered a wide selection of meats every day.

But how could the NHS sensibly ban cigarettes as a known health hazard while simultaneously promoting meat?

The answer lies in the term doublethink, coined by George Orwell in his novel Nineteen Eighty-four.

Seedhouse’s piece is at: https://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2016/sep/03/nhs-ban-cigarettes-yet-promote-meat-cause-cancer