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Re “Dying for red meat? Study says you might,” March 23

All this hamburger hubbub is really a great example of what’s wrong with today’s health reporting.

The National Cancer Institute researchers have been careful to caution that they could only tease out a modest link between eating meat and kicking the bucket. And they admit that people in their study who died early could have succumbed to other factors that had nothing to do with their diets.

Unfortunately, some health-conscious Americans will be scrambling to empty out their meat lockers instead of doing the simple things that are guaranteed to make them healthier. Eat everything in moderation. Don’t smoke. Get some exercise.

It’s too bad this time-tested advice can’t seem to compete with gloomy, flavor-of-the-month health scares.

David Martosko

Washington

The writer is director of research for the Center for Consumer Freedom.