Too much red meat costs €7.50 per kilo in healthcare costs: study

Red meat would be 7.50 euros more expensive per kilo if all the health costs resulting from excessive consumption were included in the price. Processed meat would then cost 4.30 euros per kilo more. Researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and others arrived at these amounts in research done on behalf of the Vegetarian Association and the True Animal Protein Price Coalition (TAPP Coalition).

The initiators think that meat is too cheap. There is no price tag for the negative health effects and the environmental costs associated with eating meat. According to the organizations, beef should be 13.20 euros per kilo more expensive and processed meat 10 euros if all the social costs were passed on. That is approximately double the current prices. Healthy food should then become cheaper, they think.

Eating too much red and processed meat poses health risks, scientists agree. The question is, what exactly is too much? The authors of the report, published on Tuesday, set the limit at over 113 grams of red meat per week, based on figures from the Global Burden of Disease study, a large international scientific program.

According to this definition, the limit is 6 kilograms of red meat per person per year. On average, the Dutch eat 23 kilograms of red meat more than is good for them, the researchers estimate. And about 20 kilograms of processed meat on top of that, which according to various health authorities, also poses health risks.

According to the Vegetarian Association, the estimated costs are still “conservative” because they only looked at diseases that are directly related to eating meat. Infectious animal diseases and livestock farms' emission of nitrogen and particulate matter, for example, were not included.

Information from the Nutrition Center and the Health Council confirms that eating a lot of red and processed meat increases the risk of strokes, colon cancer, and lung cancer. The Health Council’s advice is, therefore, to limit its consumption. The Netherlands Nutrition Center advises people not to eat more than 500 grams of meat per week, of which a maximum of 300 grams is red meat. “Every 100 grams more red meat per day is associated with a 17 percent higher risk of colon cancer,” the center calculated, with reference to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Nutrition Center generally reports that eating meat is not necessary. But unprocessed lean meat fits well “in a healthy diet, especially because of the proteins, vitamins, and minerals.”