Last month we reported on a scurrilous international news story falsely claiming that vegetarians and vegans had a higher risk of stroke, and how that syndicated story was picked up by local news agencies and twisted into an even more outrageous lie.
‘Red meat no worse, no better than soy protein for heart disease risk’, ran the headline of a press release from Auckland University this month.
Then it continues: “Three weekly servings of fresh, unprocessed red meat over eight weeks neither lowers nor raises heart disease risk in already at-risk men, findings from a novel New Zealand study suggest.”
This ‘novel’ study involved 50 men between the ages of 35 and 55 years who were at risk of heart disease. These blokes received “three servings (total 500g) a week for eight weeks of either grass-fed Wagyu beef, grain-finished Angus beef, or soy-based meat alternative.”
The inference here is that the countless New Zealand men who are limiting their intake of beef for health reasons can now relax and fill their boots, as it were. But let’s look a bit more closely at this study.
I’m surprised that any conclusions could be accurately drawn from bloods taken from a mere 50 men eating beef three times a week for eight weeks. But more worrying than the veracity (or otherwise) of this research is the assumption that many men will make that eating any old cut of dead cow will do.
The meat eaten during the study was Wagyu beef, which means that it’s a premium, expensive cut and therefore beyond the budget of many.
Wagyu “is rich in a fat called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, and several other so-called ‘good fats’, including omega-3 fats, and contains on average less than half the saturated fat in ribeye, striploin and tenderloin cuts compared to grain-fed beef,” trumpets Auckland University’s press release.
In fact, it seems so eager to explain the special merits of Wagyu that I wasn’t surprised to learn that the study was co-funded by NZ Wagyu beef producer First Light Foods. Ka-ching!
Can we assume from this association that the study results were skewed to impress its sponsors? Not really. Instead, First Light would have had more than an inkling that the study results would show their product in a good light. It could be said that the result was a foregone conclusion.
So, why have I got a beef with all of this? Well, it’s an extremely cynical ploy, and while the study itself might be harmless enough, it’s really a Wagyu beef promotion masquerading as a genuine study.
That, and the fact that the raw statistics of a limited study like this and the pro-beef tenor of the resulting press release ignore a whole raft of important information around meat consumption. For instance, the way meat is prepared, the amount eaten and what it’s eaten with are all of more than passing relevance.
And what about that soy protein? Was it GMO, organic, and how was it prepared? The assumption is that vegans get all their protein from soy, when that’s clearly false, and it ignores the fact that most vegans and vegetarians eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. And by focusing specifically on heart disease, the report ignores the many other deleterious effects of eating meat on general health, on the environment and on the animals themselves. (GARY STEEL)
Gary Steel is an Auckland-based journalist who runs online vegetarian resource www.doctorfeelgood.co.nz
He can be contacted via beautmusic@gmail.com
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