To the editor:
A recent National Cancer Institute (NCI) study about a supposed link between red meat consumption and life expectancy has created a lot of buzz, and inspired at least one "astroturf" letter-writing campaign from animal rights activists. The same anti-meat letter submitted to The Salem News by Matthew Warden ("New study confirms dangers of meat consumption," March 30) also appeared verbatim in at least two dozen other newspapers this month, each signed by a different "author."
It's no big deal if a few lazy activists want to use form letters to preach veganism. But the Reader's Digest version of the NCI research bore little resemblance to the study itself.
Contrary to what tofu propagandists and frenzied health reporters would have you believe, the NCI researchers said their conclusions were "modest." They also didn't have much to add to what most adults already know about healthy lifestyles: Get some exercise. Don't smoke cigarettes. And eat everything — including red meat — in moderation.
We should all stick with this time-tested advice. It sure beats living in fear of a sirloin-induced apocalypse that will never come.
David Martosko
Director of Research
Center for Consumer Freedom
Washington, D.C.
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