AGRICULTURAL
Table 1
Quantity Source
Nano gram of estrogen
75g Beef from steer given no hormones - Certified organic
75g Beef from steer given hormones
350ml Beer
75g Raw peas
75g Raw cabbage
1 pil Birth control
Per dag Adult male
Per dag Adult woman
per dag Pregnant woman
1.30
2.00
15.00
500.00
3,000.00
35,000.00
136,000.00
480,000.00
3,415,000.00
Source: T Lawrence, Ph.D 2012 West Texas A&M University / H Ritchie; Michigan State University
less cattle. Without the promotants we
would need 10% more cattle, 10% more
land, 10% more feed, 7% more fuel and
7% more fertilizer to produce the same
amount of beef.
WHAT ARE IONOPHORES?
Ionophores are chemical substances pro-
duced by specialized micro-organisms as
a selective antimicrobial which is delivered
through cattle feed. It is not a therapeutic
antibiotic although it is registered as a
treatment against coccidiosis. As a growth
promotant ionophores change the microbe
growth in the rumen towards gram posi-
tive microbes and against gram negative
microbes. In this process cattle produce
more propionic acid in the rumen as a
precursor for glucose in the body and stim-
ulates muscle growth. At the same time
less methane, which contains energy, and
prevents energy loss.
Ionophores are often erroneously included
in discussions about the concern of anti-
microbial use in livestock and the poten-
tial antimicrobial resistance in humans.
Ionophores are not used in human med-
icine and have a very different mode of
action than other antibiotics. It does not
lead to cross-resistance to antibiotics of
importance in human medicine.
WHAT ARE HORMONAL
GROWTH IMPLANTS?
The hormones used in animal produc-
tion, delivered by a pellet under the
skin behind the animal’s ear, enhances
the reproductive hormones that occur
naturally in the animal like estrogen and
testosterone. These products have been
in use since 1975. In steers, implants
replace some of the hormones that were
removed when the animal was castrated.
Growth implants encourage protein depo-
sition and discourage fat deposition. This
improves both weight gain and feed con-
version due to fat deposition that requires
more than twice as much feed energy as
protein deposition does.
Hormones used as growth promotants
can be used safely in beef production.
The residue levels found in beef, are too
low to be of risk to human health. To put
these levels in perspective, consider the
levels of the same estrogen that occur
naturally in plants, animals and humans.
Table1 shows that a person would have
to eat 3 million hamburgers every day
made from beef administered with growth
hormones before he or she would be
exposed to as much estrogen as an aver-
age woman produces daily.
Testosterone-containing implants are
similar. There is a safety factor of several
thousand-fold based on the assumption
that people consume the equivalent of 6
to 7 servings of beef per day.
WHAT ARE BETA ADRENERGIC
AGONISTS?
These products are the newest class of
growth promotants, commercially avail-
able since 2004. This class of additives
are similar to molecules occur naturally
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