Therefore, the group's new guidelines make a "weak recommendation" based on "low-quality evidence" that most people don't need to reduce their red and processed meat consumption, Johnston said.
"Why would you make a 'weak' recommendation about eating red and processed meat?"
Recent nutrition research has also grown more sophisticated by looking at real-life scenarios instead of a simple eat or avoid red meat study design.
The new approach discovers what people eat instead of red meat when they cut back.
"You get red meat and I get veggies, but we're going to blind this so that you don't know you're eating meat and I don't know I'm eating vegetables.