(Interviewed by Louis James, Editor, International Speculator)
This interview was first published on March 14, 2012
Editor’s Note: As you may have heard, the World Health Organization (an arm of the United Nations) issued a major report this week. The report claims that eating processed meat, like bacon, causes cancer. The report also says eating any kind of red meat may cause cancer.
In today’s Weekend Edition, Casey Research founder Doug Casey explains why you should always be skeptical of government “science”…
Louis James: Doug, you're going to love this. There's a new study out purporting to show thateating any amount of any kind of red meat is bad for you; making you 13% more likely to die, in fact. So, with your growing herd of cattle in Argentina, you're close to becoming a mass murderer.
Doug: I saw that. I wonder what you have to do to make it 26% more likely to die. If I go back to skydiving, does that mean I'm 1,000% more likely to die? It's rather strange, in that I always thought we're all basically 100% likely to die.
It's yet another sign of how degraded U.S. society has become, that something so ridiculous can be passed off as news. According to the LA Times article I read, the "study" was just a survey of people's reported eating habits. So, at best (assuming people responded accurately and honestly) the survey might show us a correlation. But even a high-school student should be able to tell you that correlation does not establish causality. The typical science journalist may be even more ignorant and misinformed than the typical financial journalist, which is saying something. It's why I read the papers mostly for entertainment.
L: The study failed to consider, for example, if those who reported eating more meat happen to include more people who ride motorcycles, party hardy, or engage in other higher-risk behaviors, which could easily be true of steak lovers. This survey wouldn't catch such patterns. And yet I read one of the authors claiming:
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