Project Proposal

Sodium nitrate is almost all processed meats, including hot dogs, pink meats, and other packaged meats like turkey and ham. These nitrates are converted into carcinogens when in the body, which is a cancer causing agent. Nitrates used to be used to prevent the growth of certain bacteria that can cause botulism, a deadly food-borne illness, and to give cured meat a pink color. Children are most at risk of nitrate poisoning. Nitrates can cause urinary bladder, oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, and brain cancer, along with child leukemia. One study found that children eating more than 12 hot dogs per month have nine times the normal risk of developing childhood leukemia.

This topic is inconvenient because of the risks it has. Hot dogs are very popular and many people eat them. It is a fact that people know that hot dogs are bad for them, but they don’t know the harmful effects they can have on them, and their kids. The government is aware of them and that hot dogs come from various parts of the animal. Yet, the government does nothing about it or care that people are eating these foods. The government needs to have better warnings about harmful chemicals in all foods, and not just on cigarettes. If nitrates are in fact the many cause of most cancers, then something needs to be done to prevent it.

Many vegetarians know about processed meats and hot dogs and that is why they have decided to follow the vegetarian path. In my research, I hope to uncover all the facts and truths behind sodium nitrates. I also hope to uncover how nitrates differ from vegetables and processed meats, and explain why vegetables are still good for you despite the chemicals being in them. I also hope to uncover nitrates in the water we drink.