For your grandparents processed meats was the healthy option since food poisoning would kill you much faster than colorectal cancer. That is still probably true for many areas of the world without dependable refrigeration. In 2015 it was determined that processed meats increased the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. Currently that will result in 34,000 cancer deaths a year worldwide that can be attributed to sausage, bacon, jerky, etc. As a comparison alcohol is associated with 600,000 cancer deaths per year. I doubt the processed meat risk has been adjusted for colonoscopy where the cancer is nipped in the bud (or polyp). Anyone consuming processed meats should keep these current. Back in the day a low percentage alcohol was also safer to drink than water since it killed most water borne pathogens such as cholera.