Doctors Group Hosts Make-Your-Own ‘Banana Dog’ Booth at Building a Healthier Future Summit

WASHINGTON—Drop the cancer-causing hot dog and replace it with a nutritious banana dog. That’s what the Physicians Committee—a nonprofit of 12,000 doctors—is encouraging attendees of the Partnership for a Healthier America’s Building a Healthier Future Summit to do at a make-your-own banana dog booth at the Summit’s expo on May 19 in Washington, D.C.

The Physicians Committee’s Drop the Hot Dog booth will educate attendees about the dangers of processed meats such as hot dogs, pepperoni, bacon, sausage, and deli meats. In 2015, the World Health Organization declared processed meats “carcinogenic to humans.” Each 50 gram portion of processed meat—the size of a typical hot dog—eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent.
Attendees will also be encouraged to make their own banana dog at the booth, which will be stocked with bananas, buns, nut and seed butters, jelly, and other toppings.

Other booth resources, which are also available at DropTheHotDog.org, will include a toolkit for removing processed meats from schools.

“To help build a healthier future for our nation’s children, schools and parents need to drop cancer-causing hot dogs,” says Karen Smith, R.D., staff dietitian for the Physicians Committee. “Replace deadly processed meats with nutritious foods that kids don’t get enough of—like bananas and other fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans.”

Last year, the Physicians Committee filed a petition urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop distributing carcinogenic hot dogs and other processed meats to children through the National School Lunch Program.

The Summit, which runs from May 18 to 20 and features keynote speaker first lady Michelle Obama, is a three-day conference for corporations, nonprofits, and others focused on creating solutions to ensure every child grows up at a healthy weight.