Braai-mad South Africans take meat warning with a pinch of salt

For many people, suggestions that meat may cause cancer are a case of doctors spoiling the party; in South Africa, where cooking it on an open fire is among the rare pastimes shared by blacks and whites alike, it is an assault on a way of life.

Digesting news this week that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had classified beef, lamb and pork as "probable" carcinogens, South Africans said they would take the risk rather than turn their backs on their nation's social centrepiece.

Read: Too much biltong, sausages and bacon causes cancer