Bad news week for red meat -- now it's bad for planet

With the National Cancer Institute's warning this week that red meat is bad for people, a nutritionist from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill added his view that it's also unhealthy for the planet. Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition, in an editorial published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, makes the case to ratchet back meat production and consumption. "The costs may be greater for the planet than for people," Popkin says, noting that increased demand for beef, pork and other red meats strains environmental systems, particularly scarce water resources that get diverted to livestock. Is meat bad? Here's how scientists at the National Cancer Institute came to their conclusion: The study surveyed 500,000 people between the ages of 50 and 71 about their eating, exercise, smoking, drinking and other health habits. People had higher death rates from cancer and heart disease if they were in the group that ate a lot of red meat; processed meats such as bacon and hot dogs were especially troublesome. A slightly reduced risk of death was noted among people who ate white meat. Popkin's commentary, which immediately drew criticism from meat producers, accompanies a study in the same journal that