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Vani Hari, a.k.a. the Food Babe, has amassed a loyal following in her Food Babe Army. The recent subject of profiles and interviews in the New York Times, the New York Post and New York Magazine, Hari implores her soldiers to petition food companies to change their formulas. She’s also written a bestselling book telling you that you can change your life in 21 days by “breaking free of the hidden toxins in your life.” She and her army are out to change the world.

My former chemistry professor is quoted in this great takedown of the insidious Food Babe, who is 100% full of shit and one of the most dangerous pseudoscience peddlers on the Internet.

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Hormones in Beef

Every multicellular organism produces hormones, including you and me. So why do so many people worry about hormones in their meat? The answer? They don’t know any better. They’re hearing and reading frightening statements, not factual evidence that’ll allow them to form their own opinion.

The media love to discuss our food, and it often leads to people saying that US beef is unhealthy due to added hormones. People have even proposed that we follow the European Union and place a ban on the use of growth-promoting hormones in cattle.

Well the truth is…

Hormones in beef are not a health concern to the US consumer. Added hormones are either out of the cattle’s system by the time it is processed or in such miniscule amounts that it doesn’t matter. FDA/USDA inspectors ensure that the meat quality matches up with established standards. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop people from saying biased opinions that lack any factual evidence.

A recent study performed by scientist J. Magolski and colleagues disproved one such biased opinion that residual hormones cause early puberty in young American girls. They found that the more likely cause is the stress, environment our children are now in, and the genetics we have passed on.

Now as for the EU ban suggestion...The European Union’s 8-year ban on hormone additive beef was in response to the mad cow disease outbreak. Since we haven’t had an outbreak such as they did, that ban does not have a basis here in the United States.

1.   An article written by Jan Lyons, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, reported that while other countries put rushed policies into action, the US has been taking proactive steps for more than 15 years to keep the cattle and consumers safe.

2.   Another article written by Sara Lewis points out that the European Union actually held a conference on hormones in beef last year…no scientific evidence could be found to support their ban.

    II.   The benefits of using pharmaceuticals in raising beef cattle have allowed the US cattle industry to produce more beef using fewer resources making the products more affordable.

A.   In an article written by Robert Kunzig, he says that in 2013 the US produced almost the same amount of beef as it did in 1976. This was achieved by processing 10 million fewer cattle. Compared to cattle in 1976, the ones we have today have 23% more meat on them. 

B.   Another fact to take into consideration is the placement of the hormone implants. It’s common knowledge in the livestock industry that hormones are implanted at the back of the ear on cattle. This is because the ear of the animal does not become a part of our food source. Since it is discarded, there’s no way for that implant to enter our food supply.

C.   One more reason to not worry about our source of beef being harmful to us is because of the ethical standards all cattlemen agree to when they begin a farm. When sending any livestock to the slaughterhouse, they must first ask themselves “Would I eat this animal?” The answer must always be “yes.”

Now that you know more about benefits to our beef industry and why we shouldn’t worry about how the meat is processed, I’m going to provide number evidence as to why the amount of hormones in beef should not be of concern.

  III.   One of the best ways to show a comparison of food products and how many hormones they contain in relation to each other is by using clear jars and M&Ms.

(Photo to come later)

A.  These four jars represent four products produced in the United States. Cabbage, beef, ice cream, and potatoes.

1.   Thanks to an article written by beef extension educator Bruce Treffer, I have reliable sources of information for these levels of hormones.

Starting from the lowest level and going to the highest (all measured in 3oz portions)...

Hormone-implanted beef contains 1.9 nanograms of estrogen. Since I used a quarter system, that equals ¼ of an M&M. Non-hormone added beef contains 1.3 nanograms of estrogen.

Potatoes contain 225 nanograms of estrogen represented by 56 M&Ms.

Ice cream has 520 nanograms of estrogen which adds up to 130 M&Ms.

Cabbage contains the most estrogen out of all of these with a whopping 2,000 nanograms of estrogen. It’s represented by 500 M&Ms. Cabbage has over 1,000x the amount of estrogen that beef has, added hormones or not.

B.    So now you might be wondering...How does this all compare to you?

1.     An adult man produces around 136,000 nanograms of estrogen per day.

2.     An adult non-pregnant female? 480,000 nanograms.

1.9 nanograms more for something you’re not going to eat in large quantities isn’t going to hurt you. Your body actually digests it all down anyways, so you’re not getting any of the hormones in that form. They become proteins in your body.

Hormones in beef have become a sensitive issue in our world today. It’s our job as the consumer to research both sides of the arguments presented and then form our own opinions afterwards. Hopefully reading this helps you to better be able to form your opinion now. I, for one, am going to continue eating my steaks without worry.

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I just wanted to start off with a post of some of the cattle I work with on a daily basis!

Information about this photo: All of these cattle you see are steers, so that means they were castrated (testicles cut off) when they were young. This is done to keep their testosterone levels down. The steer on the far left is of the “Beefmaster” breed while the others you see are “Angus”.