Carciongenic processed meat should be removed from school cafeterias.

It is not new that processed meat is not good for consumers in terms of sodium and fat intake, but a recent study by the World Health Organization has found processed meat also causes an increase in the chances of cancer. The question of whether or not children should be allowed to eat these foods in school cafeterias comes with this discovery, and the answer is no. Processed meat should be removed from school lunches to not only lessen the probability of cancer, but to provide healthy choices for children that would be otherwise unable to make the choices themselves.

Processed meat is any type of meat that has been altered for flavor or preservation. Examples of these are sausages, beef jerky and hot dogs. The chance of cancer increases by 18 percent with every 50 grams eaten, according to WHO. Up to 800 studies were evaluated to find this information, and 22 experts from 10 countries were consulted.

According to recent estimates by the Global Burden of Disease Project, processed meats cause about 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide. That is only slightly less than appendicitis, a health issue that gets far more awareness and education.

Though the chance of cancer is relatively small, risks should not be taken. Cancer is an illness with a big name, one that strikes fear simply with the mention of it. If these meats cause any type of cancer, they should be removed from school cafeterias to reduce the stigma. Further, removing processed meats and replacing them with unprocessed meats would have more health benefits and a smaller chance of cancer.

According to Todd Datz from Harvard School of Public Health, “eating processed meat, such as bacon, sausage or processed deli meats, was associated with a 42 percent higher risk of heart disease and a 19 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes.”

For some students, the lunch received at school is the only food they will eat throughout the day. Others simply do not think about what they consume and will eat whatever food is placed in front of them. If these foods are organic, healthy options, students will be less likely to have heart disease later in life. It is the duty of the government and schools to do what they can to keep students healthy, and by removing processed meats it can help with this.

According to a study by Dr. Michael Miedema for Time Magazine, it is best to start eating healthy food at an early age. His study showed that those eating seven to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day when they were young were 25 percent less likely to have a lot of coronary calcium in their hearts, an indicator of risk for heart attack.

So by exposing children to healthy food at a young age, heart disease is lessened. Not only this but by teaching children healthy habits, the chance that they develop these good habits becomes higher and they are more likely to keep them later on.

Removing processed meat could construct some problems, however. There would be an issue with students who do not want to be told to eat healthy, or that prefer certain types of meat. This could be solved by offering one unprocessed, organic, or vegan option in the cafeteria each day. This could give students the option to either eat the processed meat or the unprocessed meat. That being said, students will complain about the food at lunch whether it is healthy or not, salty or not, pizza or not, so they might as well be healthy and complaining.

The other issue would be the money to pay for this food. On a macro level, money from other aspects of the government budget could be removed and spent to benefit schools. The students are, after all, the future and the future leaders. On a micro and perhaps more likely level, the majority of towns have some amount of local farms near them. To support local economies, schools could receive food from these farms at a discounted price.

Processed meat needs to be taken out of the school cafeteria to better the health of students that would be otherwise unable to make healthy choices in their meals, and to provide the best options for those already making those healthy choices.