Transcript File - Joseph Vincze

Hormones in Meat
By Joseph Vincze
hor·mone
ˈhôrˌmōn
noun PHYSIOLOGY
plural noun: hormones
a regulatory substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue
fluids such as blood or sap to stimulate specific cells or tissues into action.
• a synthetic substance with an effect similar to that of an animal or plant
hormone.
• a person's sex hormones as held to influence behavior or mood.
Origin: early 20th century: from Greek hormōn, present participle
of horman ‘impel, set in motion.’
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approved a number of steroid hormone
drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep
since the 1950s, including natural
estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and
their synthetic versions:
• Zeranol which mimics estradiol
• Trenbolone acetate which mimics testosterone
• Melengestrol acetate (MGA) which mimics
progesterone
As per FDA “No steroid hormones are
approved for growth purposes in dairy
cattle, veal calves, pigs, or poultry.”
However, these animals can be fed growth
enhancers and feed additives in order to
make the animal grow faster. These
additives are not considered hormones,
but there is concern that they might affect
human health.
In 1993 the FDA approved Monsanto’s
New Animal Drug Application for Posilac a recombinant bovine growth hormone
(rBGH a.k.a rBST) for use of dairy cows.
Since the FDA found no significant
difference between milk from rBST-treated
cows and non-treated cows it could not
impose additional labeling requirements.
International Dairy Foods Association v.
Boggs, the 6th Circuit found that rBST milk is
“materially different”, which is in contrast to the
FDA’s prior determination. The court cited the
three reasons for the differences are:
• Increased levels of the hormone IGF-1.
• A period of milk with lower nutritional quality during
each lactation.
• Increased somatic cell counts in the milk. The
court noted that higher somatic cell counts indicate
milk is poor quality and will turn sour more quickly.
• In order to remedy this, the FDA
recommended the inclusion of a disclaimer
accompanying the statement “from cows
not treated with rBST” with the statement
that “No significant difference has been
shown between milk derived from
rBST-treated and non-rBST-treated
cows.”
Diethylstilbestrol (DES), one of the first
hormones used to stimulate growth in
poultry and cattle before slaughter in the
1950s.
• FDA banned the drug in poultry in 1959
after a cluster of male workers in poultryprocessing facilities developed Man-boobs
and sterility.
• It would be another twenty years before the
FDA bans DES for cattle in 1979.
In addition, DES was being prescribed to
women as an anti-miscarriage agent
between 1938 and 1971.
• During that period it was found that women who
were prescribed DES had a higher risk for
estrogen-based cancers.
• DES-daughters too had a higher risk for estrogenbased cancers, in addition to reproduction
abnormalities.
• DES-sons showed a higher risk for testicular
cancer.
Precocious puberty came on the radar
screen in the early 1990s, the first
suspects were the hormones used in the
beef and dairy industries.
Other causes:
• Xeno-estrogens are endocrine disruptors
found through out our man-made environment;
examples of which are: Parabens, Bisphenol-A,
Phthalates (plasticizers), PBDEs (flame
retardants), PCBs, certain plastics,
insecticides, etc.
• Metalloestrogens - metals capable of binding to
cellular estrogen receptors and then mimicking the
actions of physiological estrogens: Aluminum,
Antimony, Arsenite, Barium, Cadmium, Chromium,
Cobalt, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Nickel, Selenite,
Tin and Vanadate.
• Obesity can alter the levels of reproductive
hormones, prompting the body into premature
puberty.
• Stress, family conflict and depression is
associated with early puberty.
E.U. ban U.S. hormone treated meat and dairy
dating back to 1988.
Historical context:
• British Mad Cow outbreak affected approximately
180,000 cattle from 1986 through 2001.
• In 1977 there was a widely publicized school epidemic
of breast enlargement in very young girls and boys in
Northern Italy.
• In 1980 samples of veal-based baby food tested positive for
traces of DES. Prompting the E.U. to ban the application
and use of anabolic growth promoters in agriculture
since 1985.
In 1998 the World Trade Organization
rejected the EU’s ban due to a lack of
evidence conclusively proving the harmful
effects of consumption of hormone-treated
meat. In response the EU invoked the
precautionary principle (PP), a step
possible when there is insufficient
evidence to conclusively dispel or confirm
fears of a health risk
Antibiotics were the largest segment of
the animal growth promoters market and
were valued at $4.5 billion in 2013.
According to a World Health Organization
report this overuse of antibiotics in animal
diets during the raising of livestock may
throw the global population into a postantibiotic era marked by common
infections and minor injuries becoming
lethal
Beta-agonists (Ractopamine and Zilmax)
can be used for a number of purposes,
including promoting growth by decreasing
muscular degradation and fat synthesis.
• Side-effects seen in animals from these
two drugs include behavioral problems,
muscle tremors and rapid heart rates.
• Zilmax in sheep found detectable levels in
liver and muscle tissues up to nine days
after discontinuation of the drug.
The New York Times (2013) reported that
the FDA announced that it will rescind
approval for three of the four arsenic
drugs that had been used in animal feeds
after recent studies showed levels of
arsenic in chicken that exceeded amounts
that occur naturally. They had been added
to feed for chickens, turkeys and pigs to
prevent disease, increase feed efficiency
and promote growth
The Answer…