A doctors’ group petitioned the USDA for the second time in six years to remove processed meats such as hot dogs from the school lunch program to “create carcinogen-free cafeterias.” The 12,000-member Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed the petition a day after a WHO agency declared processed meat a carcinogen and that red meat is probably carcinogenic to humans. The USDA should stop offering processed meats for purchase, subsidy and reimbursement through the school food programs, says the group.
PCRM filed a similar petition in 2006, which the USDA denied, saying there was a lack of scientific consensus on the question. The group says it “promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.” Critics say PCRM promotes vegetarianism.