Hormones in Meat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hormones in Meat - Essay Example Still, it needs to be asserted that hormones, being biochemical, could have a bad impact on the health of unsuspecting consumers, and hence, the use of hormones in beef production ought to be controlled and checked if not banned (Gate 7). As per Schwartz, hormones happen to be the biochemicals that facilitate the exchange of information between cells in plants and animals (Schwartz 88). Hormones control the functioning of varied tissues in plants and animals and play an important role in the growth and development of varied organisms (Schwartz 88). Hormones could easily be integrated with the animal feed or delivered as injectables to control the growth and development in livestock. First and foremost, before embarking on the topic of the harmful impact of hormones on the beef consumers, it is imperative to understand why beef producers subject their livestock to hormones and the salient benefits of using hormones in beef production. It is a must to take into consideration the perspe ctive and views of the beef industry regarding the usage of growth hormones on the livestock. Sims is of the view that synthetic derivatives of hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone have been approved by varied food and drug associated and agricultural institutions and are considered to be safe for usage on the livestock aimed to be sold as beef (Sims 119). They say that beef production is a business like any other business and the business community is always looking for the ways and means to make the best use of the existing scarce resources so as to get maximum yield and to accrue maximal benefits. The objective of the beef industry is to minimize inputs while trying their best to maximize outputs. It is said that during the last three decades, the beef producers have been relying on hormones to boost and maximize the production of beef. The beef producers claim that during the last thirty years, the exploitation of hormones to maximize beef production has proven to be a safe practice with little or no impact on the humans (Sims 119). Growth hormones are safe, and they are used on the livestock to boost the production of nutrients that already exist in their meat. Growth hormones not only yield cost benefits to the producers of beef thereby allowing them to get maximum beef while dedicating scarce resources, but they also help the consumers avail beef at a price that is affordable. If the beef is produced at a higher cost, the consumers will be required to pay a higher price for the beef they purchase. It needs to be understood that animals tend to have hormone levels that are different as compared to humans, and the residual of synthetic hormones left in the meat may turn out to be harmful to the consumers in some cases (Schwartz 51). Hence, the meat treated with synthetic sex hormones is not entirely safe for human consumption. When the animals are fed on or injected with hormones, the levels of hormones used on them may increase dispropor tionately, and when these residual hormones are passed on to the consumers, they may cause diseases like cancer. The uncontrolled usage of growth hormones in the beef industry may be a reason to worry for the unsuspecting consumers who intend to buy healthy nutrition for the money they pay. The residual sex hormones found in beef are not entirely safe for human consumption. For instance, many studies have linked breast cancer to the sex hormone estrogen present in the contraceptive pills, even