Term Paper on "Beef Hormones"

Term Paper 10 pages (3695 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Beef Hormones

Hormones are naturally produced by man and woman and the child. This plays a vital role in human's normal physiological functioning, body development and maturity. Hormones are produced by almost, if not, every organ system and tissue type in an animal body. In animals, the best known sources of hormones are those that are produced by the endocrine glands of vertebrate animals. There are hormone molecules which can be released directly into the bloodstream while there are some that are not secreted or released but just move by circulating and diffusing to the specific target cells which can be the nearest cell in the same tissue or the cells of a distant organ of the body. Hormones serve as a way of signal to the target cells and it acts by determining the patter of secretion and the signal transduction of the receiving tissue (Henderson 2005, pp 17).

The actions of the hormones differ from each other but commonly, they serve as (Henderson 2005, pp 22):

An important component in stimulating and inhibiting growth

They act to bring on or suppress apoptosis which is known to be the 'programmed cell death'

They can activate and/or inhibit the immune system

They are used in the regulation of metabolism

They also regulate the body's ability to prepare for a new activity (such as fighting, fleeing, and mating) or phase of life (like puberty, caring for offspring, and menopausal stage).

There are also some hormone that can regulate the production and release of other hormones. It must be noted that the release and/or secretion of hormones can be stimulated by other hormones, through plasma concentrations of ions, nutrients and globulins, via various innate activities of the neurons and the brain or as stimulated by the changes in environmental condition

Lastly, there are specific hormones that may control the reproductive cycle of virtually all multicellular organisms.

There are three hormones that are naturally occurring hormones produced by humans and food animal, which include estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone.

While trenbolone acetate, zeranol and melengestrol acetate (MGA) are synthetic or artificial hormones http://www.useu.be/issues/BeefPrimer022699.html,1999 para 1).

Naturally or artificially produced, all of these six hormones are proven to be effective and safe in enhancing growth. Moreover, recent studies have shown that these hormones are equally effective in beef production. In fact, based on several researches, a hormone-treated animal is found to be gaining more weight quicker than the normal animal would do. Aside from this, a hormone-treated animal could also offer tastier and much tender meat products than the normal animals of their kind http://www.useu.be/issues/BeefPrimer022699.html,1999 para 2).

This perspective initiates the now highly debated issue on beef hormones. It must be noted that the hormone levels of beefs, induced by growth promotions, are just on the normal range of natural levels of hormones. The meat or beef from steer, that are castrated and with an administered hormones for growth promotion, have testosterone levels which are over ten times lower than the amount of beef from bulls, that are not castrated and maintains non-administered hormones. Consequently, since the American beef market offers hormone-induced beefs, their products provide significantly lower levels of hormones than the European beefs could offer (because beefs from Europe are dominantly from bulls http://www.useu.be/issues/BeefPrimer022699.html,1999 para 4).

With this, it has been a big question to many if beef with administered hormones is better than beef with naturally occurring hormones.

In the same manner, many are asking if the beef from European countries are relatively safer from the beef coming from most of the American states because of this issue on beef hormone levels.

Hormones in Beef

In today's world, beef hormones are commonly used by several cattle and meat industries in order to increase the weight-gain of cattle (Status report from EC, 1998 para 14). The list of hormones used for specific purposes are:

Estradiol (in the form of 'estradiol benzoate', 'estradiol beta-17') - This type of hormone is used in most cattle industries in Canada.

Some research initiated in Europe stated that estradiol-17 beta is 'considered a complete carcinogen because of its ability to exert both tumor-initiating and tumor-promoting effects'. Aside from its carcinogenic attribute, Canadian researchers themselves have noticed that the use Revelor-H, an ordinary preparation of estradiol, resulted to a noticeable reduction of the Thymus gland - which is, of course, necessary to the normal functioning of the immune system. Needless to say, any human being with damaged immune system would mean an inability to defend themselves against common colds, infections and/or cancers (Status report from EC, 1998 para 16).

Progesterone which is the steroid hormone that is usually connected to the implantation of the egg in the uterus, and even on the process of growth of the embryo and fetus.

It has been noted that progesterone has the ability to increase the incidence of tumors particularly in the mammary gland, ovary, uterus and vagina especially in laboratory animals (Status report from EC, 1998 para 16).

Testosterone (in the form of testosterone propionate) which is the major sex hormone secreted by males.

Testosterone is found to be capable of stimulating tumors and prostate cancers particularly in mice (Status report from EC, 1998 para 17).

Trenbolone (in the form of trenbolone acetate).

Trenbolone are examples of artificial androgens that are parts of the anabolic activity which is several times greater than what testosterone can do. Mice which have been feed by trenbolone are found to have acquired tumor in the pancreas, liver and hyperplasia (Status report from EC, 1998 para 17).

Zeranol which is a from of myco-estrogen that are produced by various species of fusarium molds.

Zeranols, when applied to mice are found to create abnormalities in the testis of the mice. It was also observed that Zeranol can cause tumors in the pituitary gland of mice and the stimulation of adenomas and carcinomas of the liver in hamsters (Status report from EC, 1998 para 17).

Melengestrol acetate (or normally coined as MGA, melengestrol) is the only administered beef-hormone that is used as a feed additive and is closely related to the compound of Diethylstilbestrol (DES).

Based on several laboratory tests, MGA pellets implanted in female mice created increasing incidence of cancers or tumors in the mammary gland (Status report from EC, 1998 para 17).

The above-information clearly states that hormones, when implanted to the animals, will trigger several tumors in the body of the animals. Hence, if an animal which have treated with hormone, is eaten by human being, here really is a big possibility that the tumors can then be passed through the bodies of the human beings.

Related Studies

In recent studies conducted, many results have proven that exposure to great levels of hormones is a threat to people's health. Hormones which are retained in various meat products can upset the natural "endocrine equilibrium" (or the hormonal balance) within the human body. Such disruption in the endocrine equilibrium could threaten the human health by producing multiple biological effects that are potentially harmful for the body. Hence, too much exposures or intake of meat with uncertain amount of hormone residues could result to neurobiological endocrine effects, developmental effects, immunotoxicity, reproductive and immunological effects, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity (European Commissions's Scientific Committee, 1999 para 12).

The effects of over intake or exposure to mean with hormone residues are the children and the pregnant women. It must be noted that in every human life's stages, there is already a characterized and well defined hormonal level balance. Needless to say, the level of hormonal activity is highly dependent on the stages in the human life cycle. Scientific researches have implied that the pre-pubertal children are highly at risk to beef-hormones since the "endocrine equilibrium" at this specific stage is revoltingly miscalculated. This idea is supported by several 'bio-assays' or laboratory tests which proved that the actual hormonal production rates of children "may have been overestimated by a factor of up to 100 fold" (European Commissions's Scientific Committee, 1999 para 12).

Meanwhile, teenagers or those people undergoing the adolescent years, are at risk to problems related to hormone-treated beefs. Several studies revealed that eating hormone-treated beef can possible cause girls to reach their puberty stage earlier than the normal course, thereby exposing these girls to breast cancers and the likes. Several professors and medical practitioners agreed to this idea and revealed that strange early starts of puberty will mean higher risk to breast cancer and there is a very high probability that the beefs from North America are one of the 'contributing factors in the early onset of puberty among girls observed in recent decades' (The Globe and Mail, 1999 pp 4). This is the reason inducing hormones to cattle is not concluded to be scientifically safe, because even if the frequency of risk is not that high, there are still no compensating benefit found from these hormone-induced beef that is being offered to the consumers" (The Globe and Mail, 1999 pp 5).

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