Troubling assumptions behind GBD 2019 on the health risks of red meat

We echo the compliments of Alice Stanton and colleagues1 to the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. We also support Stanton and colleagues’ call for further clarification, justification, or reconsideration of the theoretical minimum risk exposure level of zero for unprocessed red meat selected by GBD in their latest estimates. Not only does the increase in the estimated burden appear implausible, but the lack of transparency in the assumptions underlying the calculations undermines the authority of the GBD estimates.