The National Cancer Institute has posted on it’s website that frying meat creates cancer-causing chemicals:
“Research has shown that cooking certain meats at high temperatures creates chemicals that are not present in uncooked meats. A few of these chemicals may increase cancer risk. For example, heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are the carcinogenic chemicals formed from the cooking of muscle meats such as beef, pork, fowl, and fish…”
The evidence is clear: most cancers are caused by lifestyle and dietary factors. Eating fried and processed foods is not recommended if you want to avoid illness and cancer. In fact, all major cancer institutes recommend a cancer-fighting diet high in plant foods, and devoid of highly-processed foods. I’m guessing deep-fried and grilled, non-organic chicken falls into that second category.
I was floored to see that the Susan G. Komen For The Cure foundation has partnered with Kentucky FRIED CHICKEN to raise money for cancer research. For each pink bucket of KFC’s chicken sold through the end of May, $.50 will be donated to cancer awareness and education projects.
One wonders: will the education create awareness that fried food can lead to cancer?
Cancer awareness groups, like Breast Cancer Action, have come out against KFC’s campaign and find this marketing partnership to be more damaging than benefiting to the health and awareness of consumers.
I urge you to write to KFC and the Susan G. Korman foundation and tell them what you think of this advertising campaign.
I was appalled when I saw this ad run on television. I now question Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation’s ethics as far as who they partner with. I can’t imagine a foundation whose mission is to raise awareness, raise funds for research (and ultimately a cure) for cancer…would partner with a company as depolorable as KFC. Will McDonald’s be next?
Say what??? Boooooo! What are they thinking? I’ll drop them a line. Thanks for raising this issue Alex.
Unfortunately scads of corporations are jumping on the cancer treatment bandwagon. These companies are well aware that aligning with ‘cure for cancer’ campaigns will tug at our hearts and deflect our negative image from the reality that what they’re selling is carcinogenic. A flaming example of this twisted campaigning is Philip Morris cigarette company (now known as Altria. . . .) advertises a ‘no-smoking’ campaign targeted to teens. What a cruel joke. We are being marketed to a thousand times a day. We need to stop and ask ourselves, what does this company have to gain. KFC thinks we’re idiots; sadly we often don’t disapoint them.
Alex,
This is obviously ridiculous. But I am hoping it wakes people up to all the products that receive cancer-industry endorsements which are also cancer causing.
The pink ribbon has long been on M & Ms, plastics with BPA and other things that contribute to cancer.
In the book I just published, I use a scientific sustainability framework to show how the cancer industry itself is sustainable!
I’m hoping the extremeness of this endorsement gets other people to start thinking about this “industry” overall.
Thanks for including it in your newsletter!
Alex, thank you for informing us about BCA~Breast Cancer Action! The marketing of ‘cure for cancer’ has driven me crazy for years now. It’s so refreshing to see BCA giving us current information and an easy way to be activists. Thank you for all you do to keep us on the path to health ~ YOU ARE A DOLL!
When I saw this my first thought was perhaps K.F.C. was trying to fund research to heal the breast cancer they must be causing in billions of chickens.
Many of us are not “looking for a cure” but instead, trying to live a healthy lifestyle and eating the foods our bodies are meant to eat! Next thing you know, there will be cigarettes that donate 50 cents to Susan G Komen!! Its just crazy how this stuff has spun wildly out of control! Thanks!
This was absolutely appalling to hear. I’ve posted on facebook and will spread the word… What I was even more disturbed by was the autoresponse email that was sent to me after signing the petition, with the most ludicrous excuses for why they were doing this campaign.
Thank you SO much for all you do, Alex! You are so amazing…
Love ya!
Stephanie
As the daughter of a breast cancer survivor I am livid. That’s the biggest “bucket” of crap I have ever seen! These companies are irresponsible.
I think this is absolutely disgusting. It’s the same as supporting McDonald’s to help the IWK. Why give money to the businesses that probably caused the cancer in the first place in order to support a charity that is supposedly curing it or helping people with cancer. Getting people to eat more KFC to help cure cancer? Give me a break. I really hope people wake up soon instead of just taking whatever they’re handed because this is getting ridiculous.
Oh yes, clearly F off to the company that will donate money (quite possibly one of the largest donations from a partnership) to cancer research. Really? People are not going to stop eating fried chicken, or the grilled alternative, or McDonalds, or fruit sprayed with chemicals (possible cancer causing), or drink out of plastic bottles containing BPA (also possible cancer causing), or spending too much time on their cellular phone (….yes, possible cancer causing…). I hope you agree’ers don’t touch any credit card receipt you get at a store (shown to have over 400 times more BPA than the nalgene bottles….) or eat Subway veggies on your salads (clearly sprayed with pesticides). Maybe people should appreciate that a partnership even exists and the possible money it could raise….before getting all bent out of shape about the fried chicken. Face it, our nation is fat and the chicken will sell, whether they partner with Komen or not. At least they’re giving the 50 cents to cancer research instead of putting it in their pockets. I’m going to write KFC now and thank them. Thanks for your article.
That’s the best comment I’ve seen yet! Thank you funny lady! xox