The European Parliament Wants to Fight Cancer with Plant-Based Foods
The European Parliament is urging the EU to advocate for plant-based diets as part of a new resolution hoping to combat rapidly increasing cancer cases.
The European Parliament is calling on the European Union (EU) to promote plant-based diets and meat reduction in an effort to fight the continent’s rising cancer cases.
Each year, the EU sees 3.5 million new cases and 1.3 million deaths, making it the continent’s second-largest killer after cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes.
With cancer case numbers predicted to rise to 4.3 million by 2035, the EU launched a €4 billion ($4.4 billion) Beating Cancer plan last year in an initiative to tackle all disease pathways including prevention. The plant-based diet resolution is part of this new, comprehensive strategy and has received praise and support from the Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA).
“We will finally be able to fight effectively, together, against the health inequalities that persist within the European Union and respond to the needs of millions of Europeans affected by this disease,” said Trillet-Lenoir of BECA.
Amongst multiple other measures, the resolution emphasizes the reduction of meat, ultra-processed products, and products high in sugars, salt, and fats, and stresses that cancer risks can be reduced by increasing consumption of plant-based foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes.
The EU Member States are also being urged to help consumers make informed, healthy, and sustainable choices about their food products. Initiatives to support this include mandatory and harmonized EU nutrition labeling, nutrition public campaigns, and nutrition counseling in primary healthcare. Fiscal measures include making fresh plant-based foods more affordable and accessible.
Plant-based diet to fight cancer
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified processed meats, including ham, bacon, salami, sausages, and frankfurters, as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning they are known to cause cancer. In fact, eating the equivalent of less than two slices of bacon a day increases your chance of colorectal cancer by 18%. Red meat, such as beef, lamb, and pork, has been classified as a Group 2A carcinogen, meaning it probably causes cancer. Consumption of red meat is linked to colorectal cancer, as well as pancreatic and prostate cancers.
According to the WHO, Europe accounts for a quarter of the world’s cancer cases. Many meat and animal products considered traditional European foods, such as salami and frankfurters, are carcinogenic. In comparison, a diet high in fiber, pulses, and legumes - and low in animal protein and fat - can actively help fight against cancer.
Commenting on the European Parliament’s new resolution, Dr. Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs at Humane Society International (HSI), said:
“It is heartening to see the European Parliament acknowledge the risk factors associated with animal products, as well as the protective benefits of eating a more plant-based diet. Alongside reducing climate change emissions and sparing animals suffering on factory farms, the human health advantages of eating more plant-based foods present another compelling reason to transition Europe to a more resilient food system.”
Moving away from animal testing in cancer research
The new EU resolution also promotes more investment in non-animal research methodologies.
Cancer is currently one of the EU’s main areas of animal experimentation, with nearly one million animals in 2017 (the latest EU statistics available) undergoing horrific procedures in the name of science, despite 95 percent of animal tests failing to translate to humans. With the newly adopted resolution, the EU is recognizing the poor translation of animal data to human use and is advocating the crucial importance of moving away from bad science by investing in new, animal-free methods including real-world data, mathematical modeling, artificial intelligence, and digital tools.
“The EU Beating Cancer initiative has presented an excellent opportunity to promote and seek additional funding for more advanced and human biology-based research approaches, which can potentially overcome the limitations associated with current animal models, and provide opportunities for providing more human data to tackle the dramatic rise in cancer in Europe,” Helder Constantino, director of research policy for HSI’s Research and Toxicology department, said in a statement.
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