The Hippies Were Right: Diet and Cancer Risk

The connection between diet and health has been often studied. While certain relationships remain controversial, dietary choices can clearly increase the risk for a number of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and obesity. Although clearly not completely protective, eating a plant-based diet and eschewing animal sources of protein, especially red meat, have a number of significant health benefits. In addition to improvements in individual health, a broader adoption of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables would potentially have significant positive effects on decreasing the magnitude of climate, decrease pollution, and help prevent loss of biodiversity. In this chapter, we will review the data around diet and the development of cancer as well as look at the adverse ecological consequences of factory farming of animals.