New Scientist Turkey, vegetables, stuffing and more besides are full of natural substances that give lab rats cancer, warn a group of New York scientists in a Christmas menu which they have designed to ridicule scare stories about pesticide residues in food and posted on the Internet. According to the menu published by the New York-based American Council on Science and Health, roast turkey and beef contain natural heterocyclic amines, substances which trigger DNA mutations and cause cancer in rodents.
Rats also develop cancer when fed with the dyestuff aniline, which occurs naturally in carrots.
But if you're feeling particularly brave, eat stuffing. There's a whole range of nature's nasties in the bread, onions, celery, black pepper and mushrooms that cause cancer or DNA mutations in rodents.