May Is Beef Month: Antibiotics and Growth Hormones

I meant to post this yesterday to keep up with my May is Beef Month theme, buttttt you might have noticed it was my birthday yesterday. Somehow or another I ended up having two too many of these to celebrate my birth

 

 

and never made it back to my computer to post about beef!

 

I know you're all shocked.

 

I apologize.

 

I'll never let it happen again.

 

;)

 

So today, I'm going to tell you about not only antibiotics used in beef production, but hormones as well.

 

To make up for lost time.

And because I think antibiotics and hormones are neat.

 

There are a lot of misconceptions in the media about these two subject areas.

A common misconception of consumers today is that antibiotics are overused in cattle therefore creating resistant bacteria.

Another misconception is that growth hormones are overused when feeding beef cattle therefore resulting in unsafe beef for consumers to eat.

However, those things couldn't be further from the truth!  

The real facts on antibiotics and growth hormones? 

Farmers and ranchers, in cooperation with veterinarians and nutritionists, use antibiotics very carefully in their cattle operations. Together, they can make the right decisions about the care and development of their animals.

Antibiotics are used to prevent, control and treat disease to raise safe beef for us to consume. Just like when we get an ear infection, we need antibiotics to make us better. It is just the same for cattle. All drugs used in beef operations, are extensively tested and monitored. Each new product must go through dozens of studies before they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA.)

Growth promotants such as growth hormones in cattle or feed additives like beta-agonists are used safely by farmers and ranchers in their respective operations.

 

These tools are utilized to help cattle convert nutrients in their feed to lean muscle. Both growth hormones and feed additives are tested and proven tools that farmers and ranchers use carefully.

 

Each operation is required to comply with safe use policies when using growth hormones and these are enforced by the government. 

Bottom line: beef that has been exposed to antibiotics and growth hormones is still safe and healthy for you to eat!