A big issue people talk a lot about today is hormone injected animals that are being raised for food. The farmers who raise these food-producing animals want them to get big, and fast, because this means they can make more money. Are these hormones affecting us as we eat the foods produced by these animals? Are the hormones affecting the environment or anything else?
A big question for me was: how are all these hormones regulated throughout the animals? After looking around I found out that only certain hormones are allowed, and even then, only certain amounts of those hormones. According to the FDA website, “The FDA approves these drugs only after information and/or studies have shown that the food from the treated animals is safe for people to eat, and that the drugs do not harm the treated animal or the environment. The drugs also have to work as intended.”
After reading this, I was a bit confused because of all the negative talk surrounding the subject. The FDA may regulate these hormones, but do we really know the long term effects they have on us? Here it shows that even the FDA approved drugs may have negative effects on humans who eat the food. According to the article I just linked, science has began to link exposure to these hormones to many illnesses, not limited to, but including, breast cancer, prostate cancer, obesity, diabetes, and Endometriosis.
The good news is, there are regulated labels and with just a little reading of this article it can help us realize what we are actually getting in the food we buy. If you read to the bottom of the website, there are 2 photos of 8 oz steaks. One represents steak that comes from a cow that has been treated with added steroids and the other represents steak from a cow that has not been treated with added steroids. The steak that comes from a cow that has been treated with added hormones has almost twice as much estrogen in it than the other steak.
My initial reaction is to worry about all the extra estrogen and other hormones in the meat, but is it truly harmful? There are only speculations so far. How do we know that this is what is causing the cancer and other health issues? It is truly hard to know if there is a third variable causing these things to happen or not. How can we know for sure if we should stay away from meat with added hormones or not? If it is truly causing cancer and other health problems, isn't it then completely unethical to continue to give the animals added steroids? Another thought: Wouldn’t it be better to play it safe than sorry, and stop with the added hormones? In America, many things are banned now but what about other countries?
Do added hormones in meat and dairy affect human health? In order to address this problem, it is necessary to learn what are hormones and what are different hormones used in current meat and dairy industry.
Hormones are chemicals produced naturally for regulating sexuality in the bodies of all animals, including humans. There are six different kinds of hormones currently approved by FDA for being used in food production in the U.S.. Three of them are “all-natural.” Estradiol and progesterone are natural female sex hormones and testosterone is the natural male sex hormone; while other three are man-made chemicals: zeranol, trenbolone acetate and melengesterol acetate.
It is realized that cows injected with material drawn from bovine pituitary glands (cow’s hormone secreting organ) producted more milk in 1930. In 2013, eighty percent of U.S. cows were injected with hormones to increase the meat production.
Indeed, it is reasonable for consumers to concern about hormones in foods due to previous hormones-related problem caused by synthetic estrogen drugs (estrogen is a significant hormone for the normal growth and development of the breast and tissues for reproduction). In 1960, diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen drugs, was found that it increased the risk of vaginal confer in daughters of treated women. Moreover, lifetime exposure to natural steroid hormone estrogen is associated with the increased risk of getting breast cancer.
Quiz Questions
- When does the FDA approve a particular hormone?
- Name an illness linked to the exposure of FDA approved hormones.
- T/F A steak from a cow treated with added hormones shows a negligible difference in the amount of estrogen in it compared to an organic steak.
- /5./6. Name 3 of the six different hormones currently approved by the FDA.
8. Lifetime exposure to which hormone is associated with increased risk of getting breast cancer?
Everyone (excluding non-meat eaters) want luxury meats these days in the form of grass fed all natural non hormone meats. People don't realize that these herds of cattle still live in fear, because they notice when Uncle Steer goes missing from their midst. The happier the animal and the less fear it experiences in life the greater level of micronutrients will be present in its meat. I'm looking forward to when we don't have to harvest meat from animals with central nervous systems.
ReplyDeleteI agree, hormones are bad. When people drink milk from cows that were injected with growth hormones it passes directly into their cells through the milk, the same thing happens with hormone meat.
I agree with you that "whole foods"-organic and local, whenever available-are by far the better choice for health AND happiness. Fresher is just better, all around.
ReplyDeleteBut, I did enjoy my lab-synthesized Impossible Burger.