Are There Hormones in Your Meat?
Consumers are completely entitled to question the safety of their food, and are expected to steer clear of products they think may have risks. However, many food labels actually exploit this fear, and encourage irrational concerns about chemicals that are not an issue at all. One such example is hormones. According to the USDA (which sets the standards for food labels) and the FDA (which regulates and tests for food safety violations):
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Photo from www.foodandwaterwatch.org
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- All poultry and pork is raised without any added hormones. Period.
- In poultry and pork, the food label “No Hormones Administered” is prohibited unless its followed by the explanation that "Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones."
- In beef and milk, the label “No Hormones Administered” does differentiate meat from cattle that were raised without added hormones from non-labeled meat that could or could not have come from an animal that was given growth hormones.
Even beef that comes from an animal that was administered hormones for the promotion of growth does not pose food safety risks. Every animal given hormones must wait a withdrawal period (a certain amount of time from administering the substance until the animal is slaughtered so that the chemicals pass completely out of their system). As you can see from this chart, the increase in levels caused by hormone usage is negligible:
Photo from www.bestfoodfacts.org
One argument is that the estrogens present in plants, especially soy, is not the same chemical that’s in animal products. This is true: the plant form of estrogen is called “phytoestrogen” and it has many health benefits. But this doesn’t automatically mean that the non-plant form is harmful to humans. Here’s some science:
Web. 21 July 2017.
2017.
Hormones and Antimicrobial Residues in Meat."Toxicological Research. The Korean Society of Toxicology, Dec. 2010.
Web. 21 July 2017.
- “The use of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH) in dairy cattle presents no increased health risks to consumers. Bovine GH is not biologically active in humans.”
Web. 21 July 2017.
- “In addition to FDA, regulatory authorities and their review panels in more than 50 countries, including Canada and the European Union, have concluded that milk and dairy products from rbST-supplemented cows are safe for human consumption.”
2017.
- “Recent results of risk assessments on hormonal substances including estradiol-17β, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol, trenbolone, and melengestrol acerate (MGA) indicate that natural steroid hormones have negligible human health impact when they are used under good veterinary practices, and for synthetic hormone-like substances, ADIs and MRLs are provided for the protection of human health.”
Hormones and Antimicrobial Residues in Meat."Toxicological Research. The Korean Society of Toxicology, Dec. 2010.
Web. 21 July 2017.
One type of hormone that has received a lot of concern, especially in the vegan community, is that of IGF-1. It is true that consuming cattle products raises your levels of IGF-1, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that the hormone actually has many health benefits, including reducing inflammation, promoting healthy bones, boosting the immune system, delaying aging, and improving our skin. In fact, a deficit of IGF-1 increases the risk of dying from all causes more than an abundance of it.
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Photo from www.sustainabletable.org
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The label, “No Antibiotics Added,” while a different topic entirely, is approved for red meat and poultry products that were raised without the use of antibiotics. However, medicating animals (which is often most easily and efficiently done with antibiotics) actually prevents the even bigger food safety risk of consuming products that came from diseased animals. Just like with hormones, animals must wait a withdrawal period from the time they receive the antibiotic treatment to the time they are slaughtered.
When discussing food labels that deal with hormones given to livestock, it’s important to ask the question of why livestock breeders give these animals any hormones in the first place. Many consumers would answer that question: “To make the animals bigger,” and they’re absolutely right. However, not a lot of people realize that administering livestock animals with hormones actually decreases a lot of environmental concerns.
Much in the same way as finishing beef cattle with grain (which is to be discussed very soon in this Food Labels Series), giving animals hormones helps them reached the desired slaughter weight (usually 1,250 lbs) faster so that they live shorter lives. This, in turn, decreases the amount of inputs, including feed, fuel used to transport feed, water, and land. It also decreases the amount of time that the animal is emitting methane gas through enteric fermentation, so their carbon footprint is reduced.
An Elanco scientific assessment identified using bovine growth hormones as a necessary step to feeding our growing population. Another study conducted by Cornell found that, “one benefit from the use of rbST is that supplemented cows require less feed per unit of milk produced.” As long as we know that we are not putting public health in danger, we should celebrate the innovation of making farming more sustainable through hormone usage.
In conclusion, if you truly feel the need to avoid added hormones, then the only products you need to be concerned about are milk beef. Do not buy pork, eggs, or chicken that costs more just because it has the “No Hormones Administered” label… that is a scam!
When discussing food labels that deal with hormones given to livestock, it’s important to ask the question of why livestock breeders give these animals any hormones in the first place. Many consumers would answer that question: “To make the animals bigger,” and they’re absolutely right. However, not a lot of people realize that administering livestock animals with hormones actually decreases a lot of environmental concerns.
Much in the same way as finishing beef cattle with grain (which is to be discussed very soon in this Food Labels Series), giving animals hormones helps them reached the desired slaughter weight (usually 1,250 lbs) faster so that they live shorter lives. This, in turn, decreases the amount of inputs, including feed, fuel used to transport feed, water, and land. It also decreases the amount of time that the animal is emitting methane gas through enteric fermentation, so their carbon footprint is reduced.
An Elanco scientific assessment identified using bovine growth hormones as a necessary step to feeding our growing population. Another study conducted by Cornell found that, “one benefit from the use of rbST is that supplemented cows require less feed per unit of milk produced.” As long as we know that we are not putting public health in danger, we should celebrate the innovation of making farming more sustainable through hormone usage.
In conclusion, if you truly feel the need to avoid added hormones, then the only products you need to be concerned about are milk beef. Do not buy pork, eggs, or chicken that costs more just because it has the “No Hormones Administered” label… that is a scam!
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