Study summary: The effect of meat consumption on the risk of breast cancer in the UK Women's Cohort Study was evaluated in this study. 35,372 women aged 35 to 69 years between 1995 and 1998 were recruited and their diets were assessed by a 217-item food questionnaire. High intake of meat compared with no meat consumption was found to be associated with premenopausal breast cancer, HR=1.20 (95% CI: 0.86–1.68). Larger effects were found in postmenopausal women for all meat types, with significant correlations with total, processed and red meat consumption. Processed meat had the strongest positive association with postmenopausal breast cancer, with HR=1.64 (95% CI: 1.14–2.37) for high consumption compared with none. The authors conclude that both pre- and postmenopausal women who consumed the most meat had the highest risk of breast cancer.