Growth Hormones in Food

The Western diet comprises mainly meat and dairy products, which the palate thoroughly relishes. However, the news about large-scale producers adding growth hormones to boost production of meat and milk acts like a wet blanket. Use of hormone growth promotants (HGPs) in meat and dairy industries to achieve larger livestock, higher quality meats and higher milk production is known to us all. However, the US FDA, approves the injection of hormones to cattle. While meat and dairy producers depend on growth hormones for productivity and profit, what is the effect of consuming these growth hormones on our health? Before we head into that, let's have a quick look at what are hormones.

Hormones
Hormones are naturally produced in the bodies of humans and animals. They are chemical messengers produced in one part of the body and then affecting a particular function in the body. Different functions in our bodies such as growth, reproduction and development are all regulated by hormones. Cow's milk naturally contains slight traces of hormones and these natural growth hormones in food are safe. However, hormones are also being synthetically produced and injected into the bodies of cattle. This is when the problem starts.

Growth Hormone in Milk
In the 1930s, growth hormone bovine somatotropin (BST) was injected into cows and was seen to increase milk production. BST hormone is a hormone naturally secreted by the pituitary glands of cows, which interacts with other hormones in the cow's body to control milk production. It was only in the 1980s, that a breakthrough in use of recombinant DNA procedures made it possible for injecting rBGH or Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone into millions of cows to increase milk production.

Growth Hormone in Beef
It was in 1956, that the US cattle industry began using hormones to boost beef production. DES (diethylstilbestrol) hormone was used then to fatten cattle faster, thereby ensuring fresh meat supply at a quicker rate. Today, the FDA has approved 6 hormone growth promotants (HGPs), three naturally occurring hormones: Testosterone, Oestradiol, and Progesterone and three synthetically prepared hormones: Trenbolone, Melengestrol and Zeranol.

Effect of Growth Hormones
When hormones are injected into the cows, traces or residues of the hormones are seen to leach into the milk and meat, which enters into the body of the one that consumes it. As of today, there are no conclusive studies that have been conducted to pin point the exact adverse effects of growth hormones. Nevertheless, based on some smaller studies, the following dangers have been listed down.

The hormones obtained from the meat and milk are feared to lower the age of puberty onset in boys and girls. However, there are no specific findings to prove this. This is considered a potential side effect of consuming foods with growth hormones in them. Researchers are also apprehensive about the higher risks of contracting breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men by consuming these hormone injected foods.

Besides these effects on our human bodies, researchers and scientists are also apprehensive about the effect of these hormones on the environment. Since residues of hormones also seep into cow's dung, when this manure makes its way into the rivers and streams, it will adversely affect the living creatures in the water such as fish, frog, etc. The European Union has banned the use of growth hormones in food and have also banned beef imports from the United States to safeguard the health of their people.