THEThe world is increasingly divided even over meat. If ad Amsterdam has banned any advertising of burgers, cold cuts or roast chicken in public spaces since May 1st to limit the impact of nutrition on global warming, in Nashville, Tennessee, has just concluded Meatstockthe convention of carnivores who consider steaks medicine. “Speaking to each other over beef brisket dipped in butter and cups of raw milk, those in attendance shared what they called their ‘testimonies,’ describing how they believed the carnivorous diet had cured a wide range of ailments, including arthritis, mental illness and diabetes,” we read in the news report. New York Times. It’s a niche following, but their vision is gaining traction.
In a video published a few weeks ago on the social network While many European states are studying every possible plant-based alternativeoverseas animal sources have become a pillar of the movement Make America Healthy Again. And when Kennedy presented a new food pyramid, overturning that of the Mediterranean diet, steak took pride of place. But where is the truth? What do the nutritional guidelines and scientific studies say? Here are some answers that avoid polarization.
Is it essential to eat meat?
For some anthropologists and according to the conclusions of a 2016 experiment that appeared on Natureis the chewing of shreds of meat that would have strengthened the jaws and enlarged the skull, making us what we are: intelligent, gifted with speech. So, continue to be omnivorous? “According to this logic,” he noted Isaac Singer, Nobel Prize for Literature “we shouldn’t even prevent murder, because it too has always been practiced since the beginning of time.”
Eating meat is not essential for the average Westerner, who has many food alternatives. Do factory farms pollute like cars? You can say yes. According to the very recent report by Greenpeacethe Po Valley is one of the areas with the worst air quality in Europe because it is “poisoned” (so we read) by intensive farming, which releases ammonia. Precisely this gas, which derives from the fermentation of sewage, that is, that mixture of water, urine and animal faeces, forms fine dust, 2.5 pmthe very small particles capable of penetrating the lungs and entering the blood. According to theLivestock registryin Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna are home to around 60 percent of cattle and poultry bred in Italy and beyond80 percent of all pigs. They are often close to large cities, such as Brescia and Milan, and the their emissions add to car exhaust.
What is the impact on the climate?
The stomachs of cows and sheep contain bacteria that, while helping them digest, create methane, the second greenhouse gas (after carbon dioxide) blamed for global warming. Industrial meat production also affects the environment for other reasons. Forests are cut down to create pastures and to grow food for animals. Considerable water resources are consumed. Soil erosion is exacerbated.
Would it be better to give up meat altogether? There ethical decision to respect animals not eating them is not up for debate, but it cannot be said that it is necessary to become vegetarian or vegan to safeguard one’s health and the environment. If anything, the theme is the intensive farming. «Instead of resigning ourselves to poor quality meat produced in a completely unsustainable way, we must get used to eating less meat, but of good quality and produced with sustainable practices, that is, coming from grazing animals, in extensive farming or multi-purpose farms, which combine healthy agriculture with healthy breeding», he suggests Stefano Vendrame, nutritional biologist and professor at the Catholic University of Milan in the book Carnivores or vegans? (Longanesi).
Is excess meat bad for you?
«No pathology is caused only by the consumption of red meat», we read on the company website Airc Foundation for cancer research. «However, epidemiologists agree that the individuals they follow diets rich in animal proteins, especially red and processed meats, have a greater risk of developing chronic diseases non-transmittable as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, renal and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as different forms of cancer and infections. Regarding tumors, the risk increases especially for those of the gastrointestinal system, such as colorectal and stomach cancer. There is also some evidence regarding the risk of developing other cancers, such as those of the breast, ovary, prostate and endometrium.
In 2015 the‘International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of Lyon established that red meat is probably carcinogenic and that the Processed red meat (sausages and cured meats) is certainly carcinogenic». In the following years, the results of the research that led to those conclusions were confirmed by epidemiological studies (i.e. on populations)including one published in early 2025 in the journal Nature Communications: the analysis of data from over 500 thousand women in the United Kingdom confirmed the association between red meat and increased risk of colorectal cancer, the third most common in the world, especially in high-income countries.
The ethical decision to respect animals by not eating them is not discussed, but it cannot be said that it is necessary to become vegetarian or vegan to safeguard one’s health and the environment. The theme, if anything, is intensive farming (Getty Images).
And white meat?
The Italian and international guidelines do not demonize white meat, but do not consider it “a source of protein to which preference should be given for consumption (unlike legumes and fish)”, as the team’s nutritionists write IEO Smartfood-European Institute of Oncology in Milan. «Furthermore, compared to some cuts of red meat, white meat has a significantly lower lipid content».
Processed white meat?
The vast majority of cold cuts or turkey frankfurters are among ultra-processed foodslike certain ones frozen chicken nuggets. Years of research have linked diets rich in extremely processed foods (from snacks to ready meals) to a higher risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer. «Although studies investigating the effects of processed white meat on health are still limited, it would seem that as consumption increases, both the risk of type 2 diabetes and, more generally, mortality increase», note the Smartfood nutritionists. Is pork red or white meat? In cooking manuals, veal and pork may be referred to as white or pink meat, but from a nutritional point of view they should be considered red meat: they are included in all assessments on the correlation with potential risks. Therefore, they must be limited like beef, kid, lamb and horse meat.
What place does meat have in the new Italian food pyramid?
There Italian Society of Human Nutrition, acronym Sinudeveloped a new food pyramid in 2025, symbol of the Mediterranean diet, in which plant proteins are enhanced. “Meat consumption was limited in the original Mediterranean model and is now, on Italian tables, higher than would be desirable,” he explained Anna Tagliabue of the University of Paviapresident of the Company. «Given that the replacement of animal proteins with vegetable ones is associated with lower mortality rates, red meats and, in particular, processed meats such as cured meats, are placed at the apex of the pyramid and are intended for occasional consumption».
What are the criticisms of the inverted pyramid proposed by the Trump administration?
The pyramid delivered to Americans in January 2026 by the US government recommends red meat and cheese among the foods to consume most often and, among the condiments, butter and beef tallow. The position of the Italian Society of Human Nutrition is clear, expressing concern in a note «about the possibility that the media diffusion of the upside-down pyramid could influence the food choices of part of the population towards unhealthy models, making vain the efforts made by researchers and health professionals to spread good food practices». The image deviates a little from the guidelines that accompany it (Dietary Guidelines for Americans), more acceptable even if they show various inconsistencies. But certainly the design contradicts the Mediterranean diet, a model promoted by over 14 thousand scientific studies and by the World Health Organization (which the US just pulled out of).
Don’t you get protein deficiency by cutting back on steaks?
The new US guidelines suggest that adults consume from 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, but the indication of increasing protein levels across the entire population is not supported by scientific evidence. The recommendations of the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, based on the Mediterranean diet, provide for a adult doing moderate physical activity 0.9 grams per kilo per day (ideal weight of the subject). For one 60 kilo woman means about fifty grams of protein every day: the equivalent of, for example, a portion of salmon (150 grams), one of legumes (30 grams) and one of Greek yogurt (125 grams).
What does organic farming mean
Are organic farms better? The concept of organic livestock farming is to conduct farming that is respectful of the animal, the environment and the consumer. It means that the cows have access to pasture and open spaces whenever possible, weather conditions permitting, and that otherwise they live in a dignified place, with air and light, and with the possibility of moving freely in a natural way. It also means they were not treated with hormones or antibiotics and that they ate foods grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
It’s a nice philosophy but it doesn’t mean that an organic farm has a lower environmental impact than a conventional farm. And there is a scientific position, shared by doctors and nutritionists, which seeks to shift attention towards decreasing the consumption of animal products tout court, regardless of organic production.