After the World Health Organization released a statement that states red and processed meats cause cancer, livestock owners refute the findings and present other research. The WHO disclosed this past week that 34,000 deaths worldwide annually relate to diets that include high processed meats. The International Agency for Research states the colon cancer statistic, however, is small in relation to other carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, which attributes to more than one million deaths due to cancer each year. Alcohol consumption relates to 600,000 deaths and pollution contributes to more than 200,000 deaths. Mediterranean diets, which are high in meat, equate to longevity while research from Britain does not show a difference in colon cancer in comparison to vegetarian diets and high meat consumption. Additionally, diets low in meat are deficient of iron and zinc, which is necessary for proper body functioning. Meat producers are asking consumers to consider all statistics and put them into perspective.