High amounts of red meat consumption elevates risk of premature death 20-40%

New York Times - Paying the Price for Loving Red Meat
and
NPR - Diets Rich In Red Meat May Be Risky

In a 10-year study of over 500,000 Americans, researchers did survey work and followed up on the cause of death of the roughly 71,000 participant deaths during the decade. After trying to control for factors such as smoking, overall caloric intake, exercise, weight-height ratio, and other lifestyle factors, researchers concluded that high levels of red meat intake increased mortality risk from heart disease and cancer by 20-40%. The 'high levels' were considered up to 4 oz red meat and 1.5 oz processed meat. Cutting back to eating red meat 1-2x/wk was recommended, and eating processed meat like hot dogs 1x/1.5 months rather than 1x/wk. The article also contains information on other studies done in the past, alternate meats like chicken and fish, and the benefits to them. Red meat consumption for Americans has more than doubled in the past 50 years.