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Beef/Cattle Extension Program
Do Hormones and Antibiotics Cause Health Problems
in Humans?
By John Paterson, MSU Extension
Beef/Cattle Specialist
| "There
is no valid scientific evidence that feeding antibiotics
to beef cattle causes human health problems." |
I often receive questions about the therapeutic feeding
of antibiotics to calves with pneumonia as well as the
implanting of steers to improve growth rate. The
following information is provided to help increase the
understanding of these two issues.
Myth: The use of antibiotics and hormone growth
implants in livestock production is causing hazardous
residues in beef and contributing to the development of
health problems in humans.
Fact:
-
No residues from feeding antibiotics are found
in beef, and there is no valid scientific evidence
that antibiotic use in cattle causes illness resulting
from the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
-
Scientific authorities agree that use of hormone
implants results in the efficient production of
beef that is safe.
Background: Some say that low-level, continuous
feeding of penicillin and tetracyclines to livestock
and poultry for growth promotion may result in development
of antibiotic resistant bacteria and thus contribute
to human illness. The National Academy of Sciences says
it has never found data directly implicating subtherapeutic
use of feed microbials as a risk factor in human illness.
Penicillin is not fed to cattle. For several years,
there has been little subtherapeutic feeding of tetracyclines
to cattle, even though such use continues to be approved
as safe. There is no valid scientific evidence that
feeding antibiotics to beef cattle causes human health
problems. A recent report by USDA's Food Safety and
Inspection Service showed no antibiotic residue problems
with beef cattle.
Whether or not antibiotics are used in animals, resistant
organisms will exist. But all are sensitive to heat,
and proper cooking will kill all disease-causing bacteria
that may be found in beef products.
Hormones
Hormones are naturally present in infinitesimal amounts
in all meat, whether from implanted animals or not.
The amount of estrogen in plant-source foods is larger
than in meat. The human body produces hormones in quantities
much greater than would ever be consumed by eating beef
or other foods. Hormones in beef from implanted steers
have no physiological significance for humans whatsoever.
The estrogen level in a 3-oz. serving of beef from an
implanted steer is 1.85 nanograms (a nanogram is a billionth
of a gram); the level in the same
size portion of beef from a non-implanted steer is 1.3
nanograms. By comparison, a non-pregnant woman produces
480,000 nanograms of estrogen daily.
Hormone implants also increase the efficiency of beef
production, thus alleviating energy, feed usage and
environmental impacts, and improve overall quality and
healthfulness of beef by reducing the amount of fat.
The increased efficiency implants offer saves
U.S. families hundreds of dollars each year by
lowering the cost of retail beef by 20 cents to
30 cents per pound [IVD50 - 49].
Cattle producers continue to be actively involved in
assuring that beef products are safe and wholesome for
consumers. Forty-one states have industry-initiated
beef quality assurance programs that educate producers
on the production of safe and healthful beef products
and prevention of hazardous residues. Participating
states account for 98% of the nation's feedlot cattle
and 95% of the country's breeding cows. [BB, 3.5 - 50].
References
- Antibiotics for Animals: The Antibiotic Resistance
Issue, Council for Agricultural Science and Technology,
1989.
- Chemicals in the Meat Supply -- a Review, F.M.
Byers, Texas A&M University, 1990.
Expert Committee on Additives, Food and Agricultural
Organization/World Health Organization, 1987.
- Food News for Consumers, Food Safety and Inspection
Service, Winter 1990. 49 - Food Safety in the Beef
Cattle Industry, Harlan D. Ritchie,
Michigan State University, proceedings, The LaCosta
Conference on "Cattle on the Land:
Environmental Implications of Beef Production, 1990.
- Report on Regulatory Program for Drug and Pesticide
Residues in Meat and Poultry, 1989, Richard L. Carnevale,
Food Safety and Inspection Service, 1990.
- Report on Use of Hormonal Substances in Animals,
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture, 1986.
- Subtherapeutic Use of Antibiotics in Fed Animals
Reviewed, Food & Drug Administration, 1989.
Source of this article: http://beef.org/library/myths_facts/archive/myth_11.htm
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