Alimentación salud y cultura - SANHISO C. International health and ...

288
Diversos autores
Meat
The issue of meat consumption arose throughout the study, with participants
arguing that more meat is being consumed now than at any
other time over the past century, which correlates with the data from
the national food surveys. This study showed no correlation between
amount of meat consumed and gender or age however, as this was an
explorative study it may not be representative and so warrants further
study. Thirty six percent of survey participants stated that they consumed
at least one portion of meat daily, with two of the focus group
participants believing that the daily consumption of meat or fish was
imperative to health:
Meat and fish are part of a balanced meal. If you’re going to cook and
eat properly you have to have one or the other in your meal (Female,
aged 66-75, Focus Group Participant)
Well in my training [as a school cook] in the sixties we were told
that we had to have meat or fish every day (Female, aged 56-65, Focus
Group Participant)
Another participant (female, aged 56-65) argued that increased
meat consumption was the main cause of cancer in Britain, referring
to the lower cancer rates and smaller degree of meat consumption
among the Japanese. The impact of meat consumption on cancer is a
contested area however, increased consumption of red meat and processed
meat does appear to be linked with increased risk of colorectal
cancer (Sandhu et alii, 2001). It is important to note that the views
presented above were provided by participants in the focus group
and so it is possible that a lack of comprehension around healthful
consumption of meat may be something specific to that generation,
as similar views were not presented by younger participants. These
distorted viewpoints highlight the need for a single, clearly defined
health message about meat and fish consumption, along with a clearer
message about different sources of protein.
There were two main reasons proposed by the participants as to
why as a nation we are consuming larger portions of meat today than
at any other point over the past century. The reasons given were the
effect of rationing during the Second World War and the impact of
intensive farming policies and mass markets, as was identified at the