As a doctor, I’ve long been aware of the role that diet plays in the development of chronic diseases. Over the years, I’ve seen more and more evidence linking processed meat, such as sausages, bacon, and ham, to serious health problems. And yet, despite what we now know, processed meat remains a regular feature in school lunches, hospital meals, and public sector catering. It’s hard not to ask: why?
Two new reports have really brought this issue into sharp focus. The first, from Nature Medicine, is a comprehensive global analysis that evaluated the health effects of consuming processed meat using robust yet conservative methodology. Even at modest intake levels, just 50 grams a day, roughly the size of one hot dog, the study found:
- a 30% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes,
- and a 26% increase in the risk of colorectal cancer.
When considered at a population level, these numbers become sizable. Based on UK statistics, this would result in an extra 21,000 cases of type 2 diabetes and 1,100 cases of colorectal cancer per million population.
Perhaps more worrying is that the data show the risks to rise from very low levels of consumption. There appears to be no safe threshold.
Closer to home, the Food Foundation’s Meat Facts briefing looked at meat consumption in the UK. It found that children are eating more processed meat than adults, with over a third of their total meat intake coming from processed products like ham, bacon, sausages, and chicken nuggets. These foods are not just eaten at home, they’re being served daily in schools, in canteens, and in hospitals under the banner of ‘nutritious, affordable meals’. Our food policies are lagging far behind the science. Schools are still required to serve meat three times a week, regardless of its form. The reality is that we are embedding lifelong behaviours and disease risk in the formative years of life.
I don’t raise these concerns lightly. I know that food provision in schools and hospitals involves complex decisions around cost, convenience, nutrition, and cultural preferences. But I do believe that we need to take a closer look at what the science is telling us and ask whether our current practices reflect what we now understand about diet and long-term health.
Processed meat was classified by the World Health Organization as a Group 1 carcinogen nearly a decade ago. This means their consumption is a direct cause of cancer. The fact that we continue to serve these products in places designed to promote health and wellbeing, like hospitals and schools, feels increasingly hard to justify. Our own research has shown that in a sample of 36 UK hospitals, all were serving processed meat on patient menus.
This isn’t about blaming individuals, institutions or demonising specific foods. It’s about recognising an opportunity to shift public food provision in a healthier direction. We have ample evidence that swapping processed meat for plant sources of protein, including beans, lentils and pulses, is not only healthier but can be more affordable and inclusive. Normalising plant-based meals in New York City hospitals as the default option has been shown to increase the uptake of these healthier meals, whilst reducing costs and significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions associated with catering. My organisation has now brought this same initiative to UK hospitals through our programme called Plants First Healthcare.
As a clinician, I feel we have a responsibility to advocate for evidence-based food policies, especially in settings that care for children and people living with illness.
It’s time to reconsider our relationship with processed meat and begin phasing it out of the places where health should be protected most.
Eating Better’s Better by Half Roadmap calls for governments across the UK, including local authorities, to “Make sustainable diets the norm through public procurement”, and this includes reducing the amount of processed meat in schools and hospitals, adding more plants to menus and sourcing better meat and dairy. Learn more about the health impacts of processed meat in our It’s time to talk about processed meat resource.
