This has indeed been known for years. Cancer of the large bowel is one of the most common types, not only in UK and USA, but also now in the Philippines. President Corazon Aquino died from it in 2009 at the age of 76.
The risk of large bowel cancer is in proportion to the amount of meat consumption, just as diets rich in fruit and vegetables are associated with lower risk of this and other cancer types.
Essentially a diet with too much fat and too little fibre is to blame. People who take little exercise and are overweight are at risk.
Here's the important news : staging of bowel cancer means everything in terms of survival or cure
Early diagnosis - before it has spread through the bowel wall or beyond ( liver or elsewhere) - means almost certain cure
That's why ( not before time) in the UK there is a screening programme for all men and women aged 60-69 (those most at risk). It detects tiny amounts of blood in the bowel motions - NOT a diagnosis of cancer but an indication for further investigation. Hopefully increased awareness will improve survival in the UK which at present compares unfavourably with other similar countries.
