The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has paid to have billboards put up in Carson City and Dayton that warn against the risks of cancer causing foods in schools.
The design of the billboard will feature the picture of a skull and crossbones formed out of a sausage patty and hot dogs. A message will also appear on the sign that reads, “Cancer Causing Foods Don't Belong in Schools."
Karen Smith, a registered Dietician with the committee, says the purpose of the signs is not to scare citizens, but to raise awareness.
“The World Health Organization deems processed meats as carcinogenic and they're in the same class as asbestos and tobacco so that's huge and I don't know that people, you know the public has really heard that message loudly," says Smith.
The World Health Organization also found that a 50 gram portion of processed meat eaten every day can increase the risk of colon cancer by 18%.
This led the Physicians Committee to file a petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that asked the organization to push for schools to offer alternatives to processed meat on the lunch menus.
Now although the Physicians Committee's goal with these signs is to prevent future cancer related deaths, cancer specialists still recognize the risk behind the processed meats as being very small.
The signs which are expected to be put up soon are going up in conjunction with National Colon Cancer Awareness Month.
Experts say Nevada has the 4th highest colon cancer death rate in the United States.
