“Much meat, much malady,” wrote English clergyman Thomas Fuller (1608–1661).

Apparently, the World Health Organization (WHO) agrees.

On Monday, WHO declared that processed meats such as ham, bacon and hot dogs were “human carcinogens.” That’s the same category as tobacco or asbestos. WHO also classified unprocessed red meat (such as steak and burgers) as a “probable carcinogen.”

You might wonder if the new report means it’s time to say bye-bye to burgers and sayonara to sausage…and to start wondering, Is eating bacon as bad for me as smoking?

Far from it. Here’s why: The WHO classification system has nothing to do with actual risk. It’s about the strength of the evidence. They’re saying that the evidence is as strong about processed meats as about smoking. But the risk is pretty darn different…

• If you eat a daily average of 50 grams of processed meat—about two slices of ham—your risk of developing colorectal cancer goes up 18%.

• If you eat a daily average of 100 grams of red meat—about 3½ ounces—your risk for colorectal cancer goes up by 17%.

Compare that to tobacco…

• If you smoke, your lifetime risk of developing lung cancer, compared to people who never smoke, goes up 24 times—that is, by 2,400%!

A PLACE FOR BACON—AND BURGERS

The new report is no reason to panic. While the new WHO classification is big news, it’s not really surprising to health researchers that processed meats and, to a lesser degree, red meats can modestly increase your risk for colon cancer. That research is part of the reason why the proposed new Dietary Guidelines 2015 recommends that a healthy dietary pattern is “lower in red and processed meats.” Of course, the American meat industry isn’t too happy about either the WHO report or the Dietary Guidelines. We’ll be checking in with our experts regularly about the Dietary Guidelines, and we’ll let you know if the meat advice is in the final version, due at the end of the year.

In the meantime, now’s a good time take a look at how much meat, especially processed meat, you’re eating. While the WHO report didn’t specify a safe limit, Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, dean of the School of Nutrition and Science Policy at Tufts University, told NPR that he recommends eating no more than one or two servings of processed meats a month, and no more than one or two servings of red meat a week. That’s pretty similar to the advice we gave a few years ago in Bottom Line’s How to Eat Meat Without Risking Your Health.

So go ahead and have that sausage or prosciutto or ham—once in a while. Invite steak or a juicy burger to your dinner table every week—if you like it. Just remember the good Reverend Fuller’s 17th century warning about meaty excess.

To learn more, see Bottom Line’s Guide to Eating Less Meat (and Loving It!)