Beef is the most popular type of meat in North America, with consumers in the U.S. and Canada eating significantly more beef each year than Europeans. Mass-production of beef cattle is a huge industry in the U.S., with animal-fattening facilities known as feed lots used to produce the most beef in the shortest possible amount of time. Chemicals and hormones are commonly given to beef cattle to prevent disease, tranquilize the cows and stimulate growth. These chemicals can remain in the beef you eat, even after it is cooked.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are commonly fed to feedlot-raised cattle in the U.S., although Europe and other areas of the world do not allow antibiotic feeding to meat animals. Small doses of antibiotics can increase an animal's weight gain by as much as three percent overall, so ranchers and farmers commonly feed these small doses of antibiotics to cattle throughout their lives. Some 15 to 17 million lbs. of antibiotics are used annually in U.S. meat animals.
Anti-Parasitic Drugs
Veterinary drugs called anthelmintics are used widely for the treatment of parasitic worms in beef cattle. A study reported in the February 2011 issue of the journal "Food Additives and Contaminants" indicates that many of these drugs remain in the beef through the processes of cooking and consumption. The anthelmintic drugs oxyclozanide, clorsulon, albendazole, closantel, ivermectin, mebendazole and fenbendazole all remained in beef throughout a roasting or frying cooking process. The drugs nitroxynil, levamisol, rafoxanide and triclabendazole were reduced, though not eliminated, by conventional cooking.
Hormones
Beef cattle are commonly dosed with a range of hormones intended to promote faster growth. In 1990, the "International Journal of Health Services" indicated that the beef industry switched to natural sex hormones as replacements for the growth promoter diethylstilbestrol which was banned in 1979. Natural sex hormones used in the beef industry include testosterone, progesterone and estradiol. All these hormones are potentially carcinogenic to humans, according to Professor Epstein of the University of Illinois.
Effects on Human Health
Antibiotic use in beef cattle poses a risk to human health when bacteria in the animal become antibiotic-resistant. If a human becomes sick after eating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, those same antibiotics cannot be used as an effective cure. Other chemicals, drugs and hormones used in non-organic beef production are potentially carcinogenic. You can avoid most of the added chemicals and hormones in commercial beef by purchasing organic beef that does not come from feedlots.
References
- "International Journal of Health Services"; The Chemical Jungle: Today's Beef Industry; S.S. Epstein; 1990
- PBS.org: Antibiotic Debate Overview
- "Food Additives and Contaminants"; Stability During Cooking of Anthelmintic Veterinary Drug Residues in Beef; K.M. Cooper, et al.; February 2011
- Food Reference.com; Beef: North America's Preferred Meat
