What is the role of meat in a healthy diet?

Despite claims by the World Health Organization (WHO) that eating processed meat causes colon cancer and red meat probably causes cancer, the observational data used to support the claims are weak, confounded by multiple unmeasured factors, and not supported by other types of research needed for such a conclusion. It is likely that the association of red-meat consumption with colon cancer is explained either by an inability of epidemiology to detect such a small risk or by combinations of other factors such as greater overweight, less exercise, lower vegetable or dietary fiber intake, and perhaps other habits that differentiate those who eat the most meat from those who eat the least. In recent decades, many observational studies of people have associated consumption of red or processed meats with a variety of chronic diseases such as multiple types of cancer, various forms of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and total mortality (Boada et al., 2016).

Source: academic.oup.com