Harvest Eatery owner preaches red meat moderation over fear

If you love extra bacon with your morning eggs, this was a bad week for you.

On Monday the World Health Organization released a report that placed processed meat including sausage and bacon on the top list of human carcinogens.

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The report also said a diet high in red meat has been linked to colon and pancreatic cancer.

I thought life is not worth living anymore.- GarrettThienes

Someone who knows a thing or two about prepared meat is Garrett Thienes, executive chef and owner of Harvest Eatery and Fresh Market in Shaunavon, Sask. He toldSaskatchewan Weekend host Eric Anderson what he thought when the report was released.

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"I thought life is not worth living anymore," Thienes said, laughing. "I honestly thought, 'Here it comes again. Another big overreaction to something and a few years down the road we're going to find out that they weren't right.'"

Thienes said he certainly didn't think about quitting red meat. However, he wasn't surprised by the findings.

"I've always felt strongly that a lot of the illnesses the gluten sensitivities and those kinds of things are more a result of us giving away our meal," he said, meaning that meal preparation has become enveloped in the culture of fast food.

"Instead of sitting down at a dinner table and enjoying a family dinner with vegetables that we've purchased locally or from our own garden that we've grown ourselves or with meat that we know where it comes from we want it fast. We want it now," Thienes said.

"When you're purchasing all those pre-made meals and ready-to-go meats obviously they're talking about processed meats a lot too there's a lot of things within that food that's not necessarily listed or there's big words that people don't really understand," he added. "And I think that's what is really making us sick."

Thienes said one example is food that can sit on a counter for days or weeks without going bad.

"If bacteria and mould doesn't even want to eat this thing, what good is it for me?"

Business as usual

When the report was released, Thienes said he did not consider making changes to his menu or restaurant as they had already looked into the ingredients they use.

"We took that step before we even opened the restaurant," he said. "It wasn't so much with how we built the menu, but where we were getting the product."

Bacon here and bacon everywhere. And it's delicious, but so is sugar and we know that you can't eat a bunch of sugar without making you sick.- GarrettThienes

Thienes he wanted to know where the food he serves comes from, the ranchers who are raising the animals, and the butcher shop that is processing the meat. He said it's a bit more work, but worth it.

"Maybe faster, quicker, better isn't always better," he said. "It's OK to slow things down and food and supper should be one of those things."

Thienes said he also believes moderation is the key when it comes to consuming red meat.

"Maybe you shouldn't be eating it five or six days a week," he said. "There's been a huge bacon craze in the last two years where you see [the popularity of] Little Caesars wrapping bacon on their pizzas. Bacon here and bacon everywhere. And it's delicious, but so is sugar and we know that you can't eat a bunch of sugar without making you sick."