Hormones again?

When I think about the last 18 years worth of writing this column, except for the weeks that Kelli covers me, I believe that two topics would be the recurring theme. Animal rights challenges clearly would be at the top of the list and the misinformation that continues to float about production strategies such as hormones and antibiotics come in a pretty close second.

Honestly, I feel less pressure today from the antibiotic challenge than I have in quite some time. Perhaps that is because the truth is really starting to surface with data such as what we’ve just learned about broiler chicken production. But hormone “fear” has done nothing but escalate and that is because we are cannibalistic and try to feed on our own.

For starters, I have just learned that 50% of the chicken flock grown each year receives absolutely zero antibiotics in the production phase. Of the half that do receive an antibiotic, 38% are actually in the form of ionophores, which are federally considered an antibiotic but truly not an antibiotic. So the reality is that despite what you read on the internet, chicken farmers do not force feed antibiotics to their birds. I suppose it is also worth noting that no hormones are used in commercial broiler chicken production systems today.

If you look at who continues to feed the fear-mongering machine on the hormone front, it is folks in our own ag community, particularly beef people. People are trying to carve out their own marketing niche by saying, “Our cattle receive ’no hormones‘.” Let’s take a look at why hormones are considered to be such a scary thing? First off, no living thing exists without hormones. Hormones are “essential workers” in the cycle of life and not just in a reproductive sense.

I found this very basic explanation about the importance of hormones by Janice Stanger, PhD:

“Hormones direct such vital functions as growth, reproduction, and metabolism. While hormonal imbalances get blamed for health problems from mood swings to weight gain to depression, some people intentionally increase their levels of certain hormones using supplements to build muscle strength and restore lost youthfulness, for example.”

So what part of this is scary? Hormones make everything happen. Now for our hormone-free compadres in the beef business that are marketing hormone fear, I think you need to rethink your plan. Have you actually taken a look at the hormone levels of meat versus leafy green things? Let’s take estrogen, for example, because I believe this to be the one hormone that gets everyone all stirred up.

In the top 20 list of foods that contain estrogen, including phytoestrogens, all 20 are plant based; flaxseed and soy top the list. If you really look at the grass-based beef systems, the amount of hormones going into the diet of those cattle is off the chart compared to a conventional feedlot steer that is administered a hormone pellet. The data suggests that grass fed beef is actually higher in estrogen than grain fed, although not significantly higher. So while you may not be implanting with a hormone, your diet includes feed with higher estrogen concentrations. So you may be shooting yourself in the foot and pushing people toward alternative meat sources instead of boosting your own marketing plan.

The bigger point that I am attempting to make is that it absolutely drives me insane when folks market the hormone advantage on any side of the beef business. I am not opposed to grass-fed beef programs, in fact I think that they offer another great consumer choice but they don’t need to contribute to the fear of hormones just to sell their product.

At the end of the day, 500 grams of food Tofu, soy product, contains 113,500,000 units of estrogen and beef from an implanted steer has seven units of estrogen. I am not sure what creates a better picture than that. I have zero problems with the hormone levels in plants and my point is not to create fear over plant hormone levels but rather to put it all in perspective.

No living thing will exist without hormones. I repeat, hormones are “essential workers” in the world of living things. Now go eat a hormone and nitrate-rich salad before you eat that moist tender arm roast and be both happy and healthy. And leave the hormone talk to the endocrinologists.

Editor’s note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].