Vegetarian Star

A pro-vegetarian group would like fans of NASCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to reconsider the choices they make at the concession stands during the races.

A billboard erected near the racing complex depicts hot dogs in a cigarette carton, implying that eating such processed meat is as bad for your health as smoking.

Last year, the concession stands at the speedway sold more than 1.1 million hot dogs.

“A hot dog a day could send you to an early grave,” said PCRM nutrition education director Susan Levin, M.S., R.D. “Processed meats like hot dogs can increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and various types of cancer. Like cigarettes, hot dogs should come with a warning label that helps racing fans and other consumers understand the health risk.”

“As tobacco causes lung cancer, processed meats are linked to colon cancer,” said Neal Barnard, president of the Cancer Project and an adjunct professor at the George Washington University medical school in Washington, D.C. “Companies that sell hot dogs are well aware of the danger, and their customers deserve the same information.”

Eating 50 grams of processed meat a day over several years can increase one’s risk of colon cancer by 21%. Fifty grams is the equivalent of one hot dog, two slices of bologna or five slices of bacon a day. Other studies have found a link between hot dog consumption and childhood cancers. Children who ate more than 12 hot dogs per month were found to have nine times the normal risk  of developing childhood leukemia.

It’s thought that nitrate-containing substances added to preserve the meat is responsible for the increased risk.

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