The New South Wales (NSW) Cancer Council’s “ditch the ham sandwich” campaign for students’ school lunches has been met with intense backlash from around the Australian state with critics slamming the advertising campaign as “politically correct messages” that had gone “too far.”
The NSW Cancer Council’s leaflets on the “
ditch the ham sandwich” campaign were sent out to school children and families as the school term commenced, with some public schools placing the message in school newsletters. It also follows ongoing campaigns by the organisation that encouraged children to have a “
meat-free Monday.”
The campaign suggested that parents of NSW public-school students avoid giving their children the meat product given studies have suggested that the product could potentially increase the risk of developing bowel cancer.
However, parents, pork producers and experts have come forth defending the lunch staple and accused the cancer awareness organisation of trying to dictate people’s lives.
“Ham is actually a product which has been developed over the last 5000 years and people have eaten it through the ages without any problems,” Bringelly Pork and Bacon owner David Bligh
told the News Corp.
“It’s political correctness getting off the rails again,” he said on the
Today Show on May 3.“The message just gets too far blown out of proportion rather than common sense for what mums and dads have put into kids’ lunch boxes.”
The NSW Cancer Council does note that processed meats have been listed
by the World Health Organisation as a group 1 carcinogen, meaning that there is enough evidence to conclude that it is capable of causing cancer in humans.
Studies have also shown that red meat such as beef, lamb and pork has been classified as a Group 2 carcinogen meaning it may increase the risks of colorectal cancer if consumed in great amounts.
NSW Premier Daniel Perrotett, who is a father to seven children, said that he believed the Cancer Council maybe could have not pushed forward with this campaign
reported radio station Triple M.
“Didn’t Homer Simpson call the pig the amazing, wonderful animal? And we all love pig,“ Perrotett said. ”We all love ham, and pork and bacon, and I think it’s great for kids.”
“I know with my kids, I start the week with ham and it kind of deteriorates over the course of the week, but the Cancer Council does a great job, but maybe they could sit this one out.”
Dieticians have also defended the Australian lunchtime staple.
“I don’t think we should be saying ‘don’t have it,’” said Simone Austin, dietician and chief health officer of HealthyLife
on 3AW.
However, she did note that “ham sandwiches are not for every day” due to their content of high sodium and nitrates.
She encouraged parents to send their kids to school with a variety of different meals, suggesting “leftovers from the night before, or crackers with cheese and cherry tomatoes,” she told 3AW Breakfast.
Meanwhile, NSW Transport Minister, David Elliott
said on 2GB that the new campaign against ham is a “daily battle with people who just want to get into our lives and influence our opinions and tell us what we’re doing wrong.”
He said that though he is a “big fan” of the Cancer Council, they are not doing themselves “any favours“ by telling ”families exactly what they can and cannot eat.”
