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Responses (3) to "Do the antibiotics and hormones used in animal agriculture pose a threat to"

1. Daphne Rae, September 19, 2011

   In a nutshell, no, antibiotics and hormones used in animal agriculture don’t pose a threat to humans.
   A Government Accountability Office report recently concluded there isn’t sufficient data to even study a link between antibiotic use in food animals to antibiotic use in humans.
   
   For more information: http://www.dairyherd.com/e-newsletters/dairy-daily/GAO-says-data-insufficient-to-prove-antibiotic-resistance-link--129913118.html
   
   We use rBST (sometimes called Bovine Growth Hormone) in our dairy herd and have since it was approved in 1994. It is safe for consumers; it is a protein produced naturally by cows. rBST’s activity is species limited. It is active in cows but has absolutely no effect in humans.
   
   Our cows produce nearly 2x the state average of milk and would only do this if they were continually pampered with top-notch feed, clean bedding, fresh air, fresh water and some TLC. rBST is actually a “green” technology as it allows us as farmers to put a little more feed in front of the cow and she makes more milk, being more efficient using natural resources at hand.
   

2. BCG Farmers Market, November 23, 2011

   D Rae: That you may actually believe this is scary to me. While nature produces hormones naturally, when big pharma wants to see a profit for their work, they cannot simply package these 'natural' hormones or they would not get a patent. They have to alter what is naturally occurring usually by creating a 'drug delivery system'. The delivery system and other enhancements to the natural substance is what causes the health problems in animals and of course humans.
   
   Of course a fat, over fed cow will produce more milk; no different from me if I were still nursing and overweight. Cow obesity is cruelty and not the acceptable answer to our milk supply. Happy, buoyant cows are a joy to behold... you may want to include this experience on your bucket list.

3. Sky, December 05, 2011

   We recently discussed this in my animal science course at Purdue. The answer is no. The amounts of additive hormones in meat are so low there is no effect. Also, there are natural hormones in meat and any other food from animals you will consume, but it is not at all harmful. As for the antibiotics, there are withdrawal times to prevent them from entering the food system and meat and milk is even tested for it. America has some of the safest foods worldwide and there should be no concern for the safety of your food when it comes to these.