Beyond Meat, a leader in plant-based meat, and the American Cancer Society (ACS), have announced a multi-year agreement to advance research on plant-based meat and cancer prevention.
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Plant-based meat brand Beyond Meat is teaming up with the American Cancer Society
The project aims to advance the understanding of how plant-based meats contribute to a healthy diet and their potential role in cancer prevention.
According to the chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society, William L. Dahut, the American Cancer Society guidelines have long recommended a diet rich in plant foods with limited intake of processed and red meat.
He said: “While short-term research studies have shown that switching to plant-based meat improves risk factors for heart disease, including cholesterol levels and body weight, research in this area is still in its early stages, particularly in relation to cancer.”
Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said: “We are honored to enter this agreement with the American Cancer Society, a leading authority on cancer research.”
“One of our core goals at Beyond Meat is to positively impact human health – and we’re committed to taking action by supporting trusted, scientific and evidence-based research on the benefits of shifting the protein at the center of the plate from animal-based meat to plant-based meat.”
In 2020, the Stanford University School of Medicine announced the results of its SWAP-MEAT study.
The researchers evaluated the impact of replacing animal-based meat with Beyond Meat’s plant-based meat over an eight week period on cholesterol levels, heart disease risk factors, and body weight, and found improvement when participants replaced animal-based meat with meat alternatives.
The link between red and processed meat and cancer
Since 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified red meat as a carcinogen that increases the risk of colorectal cancer and recent studies also suggest a possible role of red and/or processed meats in increasing the risk of breast cancer and certain forms of prostate cancer.
Research has also provided consistent and compelling evidence that healthy diet patterns incorporating more plant-based foods are linked with lower cancer risk and mortality. Outside of tobacco use, the most important cancer risk factors that can be changed are body weight, diet, and physical activity.
Beyond Meat is not involved and does not have input in the research or data collection of the American Cancer Society.
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Featured image credit: The Toidi via Adobe Stock
