When I was a teenager, I drew comic cows. These cows often had big muscles – biceps like Olympic athletes. I drew them because they were cute – and as a 5’5” female, I know how strong cattle can be. Never in a million years did I consider that someday people would think farm animals are “pumped up” on

         I have since learned that apparently people think cows are on crazy amounts steroids. That is NOT the case. It’s also not the case with chickens, turkeys or pigs.

         Yes, your bacon, burger, chicken wings, turkey breast and brats all have hormones. Hormones are in all food.

         Henny Penny looked pretty normal to me when I read the classic book to my child. I’ve since learned from other mothers that they are very concerned about breast size. In the Henny Penny’s of the world, of course. There is a myth that chickens and turkeys have big breasts because they’re on hormones. Both chickens and turkeys are bred to grow larger breasts; it’s in the genetics (breeding response to consumer demand). The use of growth hormone has not been approved in raising chickens for 50 years. Same with turkeys. And pigs.

         To be clear, no hormones are fed, injected, sprayed, sprinkled or otherwise given to swine or poultry. No chickens, turkeys, pigs, or Cornish game hens have added hormones – regardless of the label claim. There aren’t even any products manufactured to give to them.

         Historically, USDA recognized the potential for consumer confusion with product labeling. For example, some companies began requesting approval to label chicken as “Hormone Free” and “No Added Hormones.” The USDA started requiring these claims could not be used to market poultry unless the claim was followed by the disclaimer “Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in poultry.”

          Will you ingest hormones if you eat turkey or chicken? Yes. Will you ingest hormones if you eat kale? Yes. Does your bacon include hormones? Yes. Hormones are the chemical messengers of life – all living things have hormones.

         So do you. Your body produces estrogen each day. 513,000 monograms if you’re a woman who’s not pregnant, only to be topped by 19,600,000 nanograms of estrogen produced daily by a pregnant woman. Men, who only produce 136,000 nanograms of estrogen/day, should perhaps reserve comment about the impact of estrogen on female temperament. 

        Read more at  Food Truths from Farm to Table to arm yourself with 25 truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt, confusion, or judgment. A new book, Food Bullying, releases November 5 to upend the way you think about eating choices.

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