hormonal meat

In some countries like US and Canada, it has become a practice to implant cattle and other animals with hormones estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, or synthetic ones trenbolone, zeranol and melengesterol. EU had expressed concerns on breast and other cancer risks from hormonal meat, and had put a ban on import of such meat.

Health safety of this practice is being questioned, as well as environmental contamination impact, considering that in US, about 130 million cattle is slaughtered annually, and fecal and urinary excretion of hormones by millions of cattle continuously processed through feedlots, and eventually gets into drinking water.

US and Canadian experts have testified before the WTO that hormonal food is safe, and that levels of hormonal residues were within physiological ranges, while later admitting that there was statistical significance of elevated levels of residues.

These experts were criticized of conflict of interest as they were consultants for industry, as well as regulatory officials, and did not have expertize in public health and medicine.

See also

• Organic food
• Growth hormone
• USDA
• International trade of genetically modified foods
• JECFA
• Cancer
• Genetically modified organisms
• Samuel Epstein

References

• Press Conference by professor Samuel S. Epstein M.D. - May 31, 1999
• [1]
• Dispute settlement reports, WTO
• [2]

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