The Week Unwrapped - with Olly Mann Bacon, a Dutch standoff and the art of living well
Oct 31, 2025
This week features Jamie Timson, a political and cultural analyst at The Week, Harriet Marsden, who reports on health and politics, and Felicity Capon, the senior editor at The Week Junior. They dive into the controversial health risks of processed meats, exploring nitrates in bacon and the implications of a processed-meat warning campaign. The discussion shifts to Dutch election insights, illustrating shifting political dynamics, and concludes with fascinating findings on how experiencing original art can boost physical health, discussing whether art should be prescribed.
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Moderation Over Moral Panic
- Eat processed meat in moderation rather than banning it outright.
- Focus on balanced diets and occasional treats instead of fearing bacon as an every-day food.
How Preservatives Can Become Carcinogenic
- Nitrites and nitrates in processed meat can form nitrosamines when cooked and may raise bowel cancer risk.
- The absolute increase in risk is small for typical consumption levels, but evidence linking them to cancer is growing.
Small Absolute Risk, Big Regulatory Debate
- Eating 50g of processed meat daily raises lifetime bowel cancer probability from about 6% to 7%.
- Regulators claim permitted levels remain within safety margins but campaigners say those margins need updating.