The truth about hormones in beef

It has been a year since Coles went hormone free with its beef products.  How are you feeling?  Did you notice the change in your bodies?  Are our young girls reaching puberty at a more appropriate age? Was there a significant difference in your menopause symptoms?  Are you feeling less fit? more fit? less cranky?  Chances are, you haven't thought about it since January last year.

There are still many people who believe that hormones in our food is bad for us.  Thus, we have stopped treating our cattle with Hormone Growth Products (HGPs). We used to use these hormones (which were made from Estrogen) to enhance the growth of our cattle in a smaller time frame.  This also served to make their feed go further as they grew faster on the same amount of feed.  We could sell our cattle early, freeing up paddocks for the new generation.  Now, we still sell our cattle early but to feedlots instead of the meatworks where they spend the rest of their lives in cramped conditions instead of happy grassy fields.

The truth is, you've all been the victims of some very effective marketing schemes and nothing more. Like the remarkable Angus craze, the hormone free craze is just a gimmick.  Do you really think your minced Angus is any more tender than other minced meat when you eat it on a Maccas burger?

Here are some stats about the hormones found in food you eat compared to what your body naturally produces:

4 oz. beef from steer given hormones: 1.6 nanograms of estrogen
4 oz. beef from untreated steer: 1.2 nanograms of estrogen
4 oz. beef from non-pregnant heifer: 1.5 nanograms of estrogen
4 oz. raw cabbage: 2700 ng estrogen
4 oz. raw peas: 454 ng estrogen.
3 oz. soy oil: 168,000 nanograms of estrogen
3.5 oz. of soy protein concentrate: 102,000 nanograms of estrogen.
3 oz. of milk from cow given rBST: 11 nanograms of estrogen
3 oz. of milk from untreated (non-BST) cow: 11 nanograms of estrogen

Average level in a woman of childbearing age: 480,000 nanograms/day of estrogen

Average level in a pre-pubertal girl: 54,000 nanograms/day of estrogen

Average soy latte (one cup of soymilk): 30,000 nanograms of estrogen 

These stats compliments of the website http://www.feedstuffsfoodlink.com

In an article produced by the MLA (Meat and Livestock Australia) it is stated that "one egg contains about the same level of oestrogen as 77kg of beef from cattle raised with HGPs."   

So there you have it folks, no need to worry about hormones in your food anymore.  If anyone wants to argue the point with you, please direct them to this blog or the following websites for more information.

http://www.mla.com.au/About-the-red-meat-industry/Food-safety-and-quality/Hormone-growth-promotants

http://www.feedstuffsfoodlink.com/ME2/dirsect.asp?sid=F7B9ABB3F82C4F90BBA7424BE84C2C41&nm=Food+Facts