If China and Russia won’t allow animal meat treated with beta-adrenergic agonist to be sold in their countries, why is it in our food?
![Instead of abandoning such drugs, several beef producers are simply switching from one controversial growth promoter to another. When it comes to cattle, size certainly does matter. But how big is too big? And at what cost? The beef industry has come to rely on growth-inducing drugs to bulk up cattle before slaughter. But the consequences of using such drugs are a concerning unknown. And in a major move away from one particular growth drug, feedlot operators are refusing to participate in a new, large-scale study of Zilmax, Merck’s branded growth promotant for cattle, NPR reported last month. Cargill, Tyson, JBS, and National Beef — which together produce more than 80% of the country’s beef — have barred cattle raised with the FDA-approved feed additive, and operators do not want to end up with unsellable livestock. But instead of abandoning such drugs, several producers are simply using another controversial growth promoting drug instead, called ractopamine. Since becoming commercially available in the U.S. in 2007, Zilmax helped feedlot operators raise bigger cattle on less food, what is known as improving “feed efficiency.” Used for 20 days before slaughter (plus a three-day withdrawal period), cattle could gain an extra 24 to 33 pounds, netting operators an estimated $15.69 more per heifer and an additional $24.24 per steer, according to a 2011 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Despite multiple reports (including from the President of Certified Angus Beef and within the FDA application) that beef from animals raised with Zilmax loses its fatty marbling, and therefore doesn’t taste as good, the drug became a mainstay of the beef industry. In 2012, Merck’s annual sales of the drug in the U.S. and Canada were roughly $160 million. But in August 2013, citing animal health issues, Tyson — the largest meat processor in the country — announced that it would stop accepting cattle raised with Zilmax by the following month. Nine days later, Merck announced that it would voluntarily withdraw the drug from the market. In December 2013, Reuters uncovered reports that found some cattle fed Zilmax were losing their hooves, rendering them unable to walk. In a March 2014 report from Texas Tech University and Kansas State University looking at a dataset of 722,704 cattle across nine feedlots, researchers found “the incidence of death was 80% greater in animals administered [zilpaterol, the active ingredient in Zilmax] than the comparative control cohort.”](https://i0.wp.com/www.terezakis.me/wp-content/uploads//2016/04/Screen-Shot-2016-04-09-at-3.03.56-PM.jpg?resize=474%2C336&ssl=1)
NPR – RACTOPAMINE
If China and Russia won’t allow animal meat treated with beta-adrenergic agonist to be sold in their countries, why is it in our food?
NPR – RACTOPAMINE
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