re: #314 Bird in the Paw

Not really. Smoked and salted foods were major preservation techniques that are no longer necessary; the fact that they taste good is why we are still using these techniques. Many important flavoring sauces were derived from the salting techniques, e.g, fish sauce. Soy sauce is basically brewed salt with soy added as a contrast (ok, (only) slight, exaggeration).

Cancer is a disease of age, yes, there are outliers, but. It may be exacerbated, to an extent, by these techniques but there are many food safety aspects that fit in with standard food preservation methods.

Nonetheless, for a great deal of the peasant population, even smoked meats were a Sunday treats, fresh meats reserved for high holidays