I know a lot of us hear a lot of different things about hormones in beef, beef is bad, blah blah blah.
In my opinion most of it is a load of crap.
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(And this my friends, is literally a load of crap)
I'm a beef rancher. I love cows, we treat our cows very well, and if you've read on here for awhile you know that we name some of our cows. We also give our cows vaccines to help keep them from getting sick-particularly pneumonia and black leg-which is when their leg gets infected and will start rotting off. When they do happen to get sick, we nurse them back to health first and foremost by using vitamins, and only if we have to, antibiotics. Would you rather eat a healthy beef that you know was taken care of, or a sick cow that had to suffer because people want things "organic"? Again, that's just my opinion.
Stepping slightly down from my soap box...
So on the topic of beef and hormones I'm sure a lot of you have heard maybe one opinion or the other. Let me put things into perspective for you:
Knowing how difficult it is to explain hormone levels in beef to consumers, with all the talk of nanograms and protein synthesis, etc. Nebraska rancher Joan Ruskamp, who is on the Beef Board for Farm Bureau found a great way to put hormones into perspective visually, by using M 'n' Ms.
If you'd like to hear more about this topic or her interview, go HERE.
Another great resource to learn more about this is from Jude Capper, a researcher at Montana State University. I've had the chance to hear her speak, and she's very knowledgeable. She is also a former vegan, and current beef lover. She has a website, www.bovidiva.com that has all sorts of useful information on this very topic. Including her research on this:
Interesting, no?
Your thoughts?
Awesome post! I think a lot of people including me got freaked out about food and eating everything organic based on the media frenzy. Movies like Food inc., etc. used worse case scenario's like industrial factory farms and pink slime news articles to make us believe all beef that is not organic is from sources like that. I have since changed my mind and farms yours and farms you drive by in the country (where I live), are not evil factory. On the contrary they are farming in a safe and responsible manner!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Media plays a huge role in how people think about their food, so I just try to encourage people to look at both sides before you start believing everything you hear :) Not all farms and ranches are bad, and it's unfortunate that some people who are against them make them out to be something terrible where we abuse animals. It is the exact opposite. We treat our cows VERY well, as do most all other responsible farmers. Thanks for the comment!
DeleteI also posted your blog as one of my top 5 blogs I love post too!
DeleteAre hormones used in cattle to promote anything other than growth? Here in the UK, it is illegal to give cows growth-promoting hormones, and that's stamped on every package, but I wasn't sure if there were other hormones besides growth-promoting ones that might still be in there. Figured you'd know the answer to that!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't seen the M&M representation--interesting!
ReplyDelete~Tiffany
Very interesting! I like the one about the birthcontrol. That's a great prospective!
ReplyDeleteI think you know we're on the same page with this. We do dairy, but its the same basic concept! I know that most farmers care VERY much about their animals and the products that are sold to consumers. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI'm okay with antibiotics the way that you put them, but unfortunately the "big" farms use antibiotics in a different way. That's what worries me. Regardless, I don't buy "organic", because you are right, they have their own problems. I wish we could all buy directly from you guys!
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