Can you tell me more about hormones?
Most of the beef raised in the United States today is produced with the use of hormones of some kind. Low levels of hormones, delivered through slow-release pellets placed in the animal's ear, are commonly used as growth enhancers. The arguments for using hormones in meat production are mostly economic: Hormone implants more efficiently convert feed into meat, thus theoretically lowering not only the producer's costs, but also the consumer's costs.
In the United States, there are six FDA-approved hormones: three naturally occurring hormones (estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone) and their synthetic surrogates (zeranol, melengestrol acetate and trenbolone acetate).
From the 1940's through the 1970's, a certain portion of the U.S. cattle industry fed cattle DES, a synthetic hormone once prescribed to prevent miscarriages in humans. This hormone has since been implicated in increased rates of breast cancer and various reproductive problems in the offspring of women who took it. DES was banned for use in U.S. cattle in 1979.
In 1995 the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which is responsible for setting international food standards, concluded that hormones used in meat production in the United States had been thoroughly tested and shown to have no adverse effects on human or animal health.
Some scientists, however, believe that there is potential for this type of hormone use to cause metabolic and reproductive problems in humans, and that this issue needs further evaluation. A recent study implemented by the Pentagon has now potentially linked the widely used synthetic hormone, Zeranol, to an increase in growth of breast cancer cells.
The European Commission (EC) prohibited the use of all six hormones, alone or in combinations, for growth promotion in meat production. The prohibition covers both the use of these hormones for domestic production and imports from countries in which animals are treated with these hormones.
However, the United States has opposed the EC's prohibition on the use of these hormones since its implementation. In 1996 the United States and Canada formally contested the EC prohibition on imports of bovine meat and meat products from animals treated with these six hormones.
In response, the EC invited the Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures relating to Public Health to examine the use of hormones for growth promotion purposes in cattle. The Committee published a report in 1999, and confirmed the same conclusions again in 2000, stating:
- In the case of estradiol, there is a substantial body of recent evidence suggesting that it has to be considered as a carcinogen, as it exerts both tumor initiating and tumor promoting effects.
- For all six hormones, endocrine, developmental, immunological, neurobiological, immunotoxic, genotoxic and carcinogenic effects could be envisaged, but the available data do not enable a quantitative estimate of the risk. Of the various risk groups, prepubertal children are the group of greatest concern.
In light of this, the European Commission decided it would not be appropriate to lift the existing ban on the use of growth hormones in meat production in the European Union. The EU views the ban of hormone implants as a precautionary move because of previous experiences with natural and synthetic chemicals, in such areas as skin cancer, DES and PCBs.
The Commission further stated that it considered the evidence strong enough to justify a permanent ban on the use of estradiol for any purpose for farm animals.
The use of hormone implants in beef has once again been brought to the forefront with the most recent news that Zeranol increases the replication of breast cancer cells. This most recent study was conducted at Ohio State University by Drs. Wm. Farrar and Young Lin. It showed that even levels of Zeranol 30 times less then allowed by the FDA, increased the growth of breast cancer cells. Additional research is in progress.
Laura's Lean Beef does not allow hormones to be administered to our cattle in any form.
For Additional Reading on Hormones:
Epstein, S. 1996. Unlabeled Milk From Cows Treated With Biosynthetic Growth Hormones: A Case of Regulatory Abdication. International Journal of Health Services 26-1:173.
Guillette LJ Jr. Reproduction 122(6):857-64, 2001.
Health Canada. 1999. News Release: Health Canada rejects bovine growth hormone in Canada (January 14).
Manning, A. 1996. Risk of Cancer Debated: Report Cites Milk from Treated Cows. USA Today (Jan. 23).
SCVPH. 1999. Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health: Assessment of Potential Risks to Human Health From Hormone Residues in Bovine Meat and Meat Products (30 April).
Sharpe, RM. Int J Androl 26(1):2-15, 2003.
Toft G. Environ Health Perspect. 111(5):695-701, 2003.
USDA. The U.S.-EU Dispute on EU Hormone Ban.
_____. 1999. Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman on the Beef Hormone Issue (April 19).
_____. 1999. Joint Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman and U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky on the EU Hormone Report (May 3).
WHO/ DGSANCO Meeting on the Precautionary Principle & ELF Radiation Feb 24/ 26th 2003.
Wright, L. 1996. Silent Sperm. The New Yorker (Jan. 15).
WTO Dispute Settlement and Appellate Body Findings. May 24, 2000.
