Lawsuit claims hot dogs linked to cancer

By Rachel Stockton (rachels@foodconsumer.org)

For those ordered to read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" in their English Lit classes, enjoying a hot dog is an iffy proposition, to say the least. While Sinclair intended to focus on the deplorable labor conditions in the meat packing industry, those who read the 1906 novel fixated on his description of workers falling into vats and being ground into hot dogs and lard. Sinclair was chagrined by the response and his subsequent rise to celebrity status: "not because the public cared anything about the workers, but simply because the public did not want to eat tubercular beef."

Though it's hard to imagine, there are those who did not have to read about the putrid state of affairs within meat packing plants at the turn of the century. It's quite possible that those people do not realize that hot dogs come from tripe, meaning it is classified as an "organ" meat (the organ in this instance being the intestine and all of its environs.)

The Cancer Project filed suit in New Jersey against certain hot dog processors, such as Kraft, which created Oscar Meyer wieners, and Sara Lee Corp. Even Hebrew National, the kosher counterpart of an Oscar Meyer hot dog, was named in the suit. This is the company that is proud to remind consumers that they answer to a "higher" authority when it comes to their hot dogs.

Apparently, however, the Cancer Project carries more clout than God. Their suit alleges that there should be labels warning consumers about the risk of colon cancer being directly "linked" to the consumption of processed meats. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council countered that many other studies contradict the relationship between cancer and organ meats.

For those out there who haven't read Sinclair's novel, it's better to leave well enough alone. Just remember this when you purchase your next pack of hot dogs: "You are what you eat."