Dr. Oz, Food and Urban Legends
Food urban legend or fact?
All the time I hear news reports about food. About antibiotics in milk or meat making us more susceptible to disease or hormones in our foods causing little girls to hit puberty at younger and younger ages. Most recently, Dr. Oz, did a show on that topic. I didn’t watch it, but over the weekend during a conversation about food, the show as brought up and used as an example of what is wrong with our food.
But is it the truth?
I watch the news and know what they’re saying about antibiotics and hormones in our food. I’ve also read through articles that Michele and other farmers have referenced refuting those same media reports. It’s confusing and I honestly don’t know what the truth is because it’s obvious that there is an issue. Little girls really are maturing at much younger ages than in previous generations.
So I thought I would pose the questions to you, farmers and people in business of agriculture. Help me to know the truth so when I’m part of a conversation about food, I know what to say and when I’m in the grocery store, I know what to buy.
- Are hormones added to meat/milk?
- Why are little girls developing at such young ages?
- Are antibiotics in the meat/milk we buy at the store?
- Do those antibiotics make our bodies more susceptible to disease?
- Is organic food healthier for you than the “normal” options?
- Does organic food have more nutrients in it?
- Is food from small farms safer than larger farmers?
- Does buying my food local, or at a farmer’s market automatically mean it’s safer and healthier?
- Are fresh/frozen foods healthier than canned foods?
I would love to hear what you have to say. What your thoughts are on these questions and if you’re reading this and have more questions to add, please leave them in the comments. After all, I’m just a mom. I don’t have a degree in agriculture or nutrition and I want to make the most educated food decisions for my family without falling victim to urban legend.
~ guest post by MRS
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I do believe that there are medications added to a lot of the feed that is being fed to the animals to promote faster growth and weight gain, and to promote more milk production. That, in my opinion is being pushed through the end product of our foods that we consume. I have a hard time as a producer to find feed that does not have medication in it, so have to resort to purchasing a lot of expensive feed that is labeled as organic.
Organic in it’s own is a circle of controversy. I cannot afford to become certified as organic, yet have heard from many of our customers that we are more “organic” in their eyes than people that are certified. We use pastures and use feed producers that know where the product comes from. Many producers simply go around a lot of the rules and find loopholes.
We aim to follow a natural diet for our animals without medications and hormones because we believe that it is better for the animal as well as us – the end consumer.
Thanks for your response! It is so hard to filter the rhetoric from the truth and I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!
I am a mom and farmer, and I hear these same concerns too. When I do, I grill my husband pretty hard about the practices we use on our cattle. Because as a mom, I don’t want to “bite off my nose to spite my face” when it comes to what we feed our family. Here are my thoughts.
Yes, we give our beef cattle hormone implants. They are implanted into their ears, so as not to be in direct contact with actual beef that is consumed. These hormones are synthetic versions of natural beef hormones. All beef contains hormones, and beef that is implanted with synthetic hormones does have slightly higher levels of hormones in it. But, the amount of estrogen per pound of beef (implanted or not) is far far less than the amount of estrogen in a potato or a a pound of broccoli. My family consumes a lot of the beef that we raise…and I am not concerned.
This is my theory. If hormones in our meat cause early puberty, then it should be easy to prove. Vegetarian children should reach puberty later than omnivores. I would think the correlation should be easy to demonstrate. I think the early puberty phenomenon has more to do with the fact that we have been steadily increasing the quality of life in this country. Children are healthier and mature faster, basically, evolution is to blame. Something to think about, at least.
Antibiotics are not in the meat and milk at the store. That is illegal. Are animals given antibiotics? Yes, they are. But they must be out of their system (and there are rules to be followed on this) before slaughter or milking. Again, I provide anecdotal evidence on this one. Our cattle receive antibiotics when they first come to the farm to ward off illness and help out their immune systems for the first month. They then receive what I would call “cattle yogurt” or probiotics during the remainder of the time to keep them converting their feed into meat as efficiently as possible. I feed my kids this beef, we are healthy. I have three very young kids, and I can count on one hand the number of times we have been to the doctor for an illness that required antibiotics.
The hormones, medications, and antibiotics we give out cattle are all regulated by the FDA and USDA. We are very careful on our farm to follow these regulations, and keep meticulous records of what we administer, to which animals, and when. Basically, I would never raise any food that I would feed my own family. And though I can only speak for myself, I’m pretty confident that my sentiments reflect other farmers’ thoughts as well.
As far as organic food, it has been scientifically proven time and again that is is no healthier than “normal” food. The nutrient content of organic food is the same as non-organic. Now, if you prefer to eat food that has been raised with organic practices, I feel you should have that choice.
I do not think the size or location of the farm matters when it comes to food safety. Larger farms often have tougher regulations that smaller farms. And personally, I prefer fresh or frozen, just from a taste perspective. Bottom line, all farmers are working hard to ensure that the food they produce is wholesome and nurtitious….why would they do otherwise?
Thanks for your comments! I always enjoy reading them. I really think your theory on why girls are going through puberty early bears more exploration. I wonder if there are any studies out there exploring it? I also appreciate hearing about what you and your husband are doing on your farm to ensure the safety of our food. It makes me trust the safety of my food so much more and appreciate the farmers more as well!
Are hormones added? Why are little girls developing earlier? There are hormones in all life – both plants and animals. Soy is used as hormone replacement therapy – as well as in a variety of products from infant formula to vegetarian foods to a host of others. How many of those early developers were raised on formula? How much soy have they really consumed vs milk/meat? Adding to this 100 years ago soy was an industrial plant, at least according to what I found, yet now it’s in many things. Are there studies? There’s studies to support and refute many things.
When I go to the doctor there’s often no hesitation to prescribe an antibiotic for infection. Does that not affect my antibiotic ‘load’ more than the burger I had or ice cream? I don’t think organic is any more nutritious than other production methods – it’s an option. It’s an option to a standard that many don’t understand what it actually encompasses.
There’s arguments if it has more nutrients – that falls to who can afford the testing (and what they have to gain from it). Is food from small farms safer…as a small producer I’ve been very outspoken this year saying no it’s not necessarily safer. It can be. But a small farm that has cattle ankle deep in muck and pigs drinking out of puddles and “how old is this nest of eggs?” chickens is not necessarily safer than the confinement operation that is clean, dry and harvested regularly. This can be 50 or 100 chickens in a better to manage system or a large battery system. A clean small farm is probably healthier than a dirty small farm – but size doesn’t mean better/worse by itself. It’s an option!
Farmers market does not necessarily mean it’s safer/healthier either. A recent southern CA market had ‘growers’ selling pesticide free berries that tested with 4 different pesticides on them! Now if you paid double the price for pesticide free would you be happy? More seriously what if there was an allergy to one of those pesticides?
Fresh/frozen/canned equally can be good or not – there are so many “depends” that it’s hard to be absolute. A canned item not processed properly isn’t safe, a frozen not prepared properly may/may not be safe. A fresh not prepared promptly may not be as healthy as one thinks.
Know where/how your food was produced and prepared. What do you believe? The mind is a powerful thing! Recognize there are bad actors in all industries. They’re in the news. The majority – who DO produce good food and do their job ethically. There’s a vast amount of information out there but it comes down to what you believe, who you trust and what you can afford. The majority of food sold in the US is safe, from whatever methods.
Thanks so much for your response! I really appreciate the time you (and everyone else) have taken to give detailed answers to my questions. I definitely feel like I am better educated about these issues! I hope other people have read this post and the comments and are also better educated about the food they are eating.
I am not a farmer but I grew up on a farm and I do have a garden every summer. I am not an organic gardner but I don’t use many chemicals either. I believe that most chemicals are added during processing. Do your own experiment with bread. Buy a loaf and make a loaf. How long does a loaf of bread last from the grocery store? How long does it last if you make it yourself? What chemicals are added to make store bought bread last so long?
Also, I have seen over the years a drastic increase in the consumption of prepared foods. Are these foods good for any of us? Even the schools are serving mostly foods that just need re-heated. Try reading the ingredients on some of these foods, half the ingredients you can’t even pronounce. Can all of these chemicals be good for us? The odds of risk have to be higher too with so many people involved in the process. It is not just the farmer and the butcher, we now have someone that adds breading and cooks the meat, packages, freezes, stores and ships to the supplier who then ships it on to the grocery or end user. Can anyone of these places guarantee that the product was handled properly from start to finish? Check the meat in the meat department. How can a raw chicken last for a week or more in your refrigerator after purchase? Read the fine print and you will see that it has been injected with something. The farmer has nothing to do with this injection but what is in the injection?
Hi MOM! Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, I don’t have any answers for your questions. I do think you raise an interesting point. There is so much focus on the production of our food at the farm level, but what about the processing & packaging? Maybe more light should be shed those areas of food production.
Although I agree with what Jan said in the previous comment. There are “bad actors” in all industries and although most people are doing their best to produce a quality product, the bad seeds are the ones that seem to steal the limelight.
I commend you for trying to find the truth about the food you are eating. There is a lot of false information out there, so thank you for giving farmers a chance to correct this.
Yes, there are hormones added to beef and dairy cows. But the cows have these hormones naturally and the FDA has been testing them for almost 20 years. In milk, any test that they have can’t even find the difference between milk from cows that have been treated and those that have not because both have the hormone in them. I compare it to a woman who takes synthetic vitamins or hormones. She has those things naturally so taking a little extra does nothing to harm her.
And definitely there are no antibiotics in the meat or milk you buy. We have to test each cow to make sure it’s out of her system.
There are no nutritional benefits in organic vs traditional food. If people want a choice, that is fine, but I know from experience that you are strictly regulated on the pesticide amounts you can use so your food is safe.
Large farmers and small farmers all have to meet the same basic standards. But larger farms have stricter environmental standards to deal with. The backyard farmer doesn’t have the oversight that a large farmer has, so I only hope he reads labels carefully and produces food that meets the same standards as a larger farm.
Another comment I’d like to make is that many people think farmers are cruel to their animals. Yes, the media can search and find a few who behave horribly, but our industry thinks the same of them as we do a parent who beats his child. Don’t let a few bad apples skew your judgment of the rest of us. Our animals are our livelihood, sometimes great friends. We cry over the loss of them. We do all we can to make their lives and their deaths the best we can. We work for pennies an hour, seven days a week. Then to have the public judge us all as monsters really hurts. I worry about where our food will come from in the future. Not many young people want to work the hours we do for so little money. Do you want to eat food imported from China, India, or any number of other countries? Help any way you can to keep our food coming from America.
Thanks! And thanks for responding!! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. Now, the next time I’m having a conversation about hormones & antibiotics in our foods I’ll know better what to say!
1. Are hormones added to meat/milk?
No. Hormones are used in livestock production. Hormones are not directly added to the meat or milk that the animal produces. The “chemicals” that Cynthia is describing are not necessarily chemicals to be concerned about. Our food processing production system uses preservatives in order to maintain freshness and safety throughout the value chain & in your own home. Preservatives are a necessary evil of the convenience luxuries we have today but not necessarily something to be afraid of. Salt & sugar are preservatives. They don’t sound so scary.
2. Why are little girls developing at such young ages?
I do not know, nor would I be qualified to speculate, but would like to know also as I have a daughter myself.
3. Are antibiotics in the meat/milk we buy at the store?
Milk & Meat have residue monitoring in place and is tested. Meat has more loopholes, in my educated opinion. There are regulations in place to protect the meat supply. By and large, they work. However, some residues do make their way into the meat supply. This is an area that needs improvement. Cattle farmers and Dairy Farmers who send their livestock into the meat market need to be more proactive to protect the public in this area. FSIS Residue Violator weekly reports show that there is still a wide issue with dairy culls & veal calves being sent to slaughter with levels of medication or residues in their systems that are beyond legal tolerance limits. We need to improve.
4. Do those antibiotics make our bodies more susceptible to disease?
As a farmer and a meat processor, I am not qualified to answer this question. My opinion would be that no, the anitbiotics do not make our bodies more susceptible to disease. But, they may make our medication less effective when we need to be treated. However, I feel that over prescribing of antibiotics by Doctors is a huge source of that issue.
5. Is organic food healthier for you than the “normal” options?
No more or less healthier than any other options. There is organic potato chips, candies, and chocolate. Need I say more.
6. Does organic food have more nutrients in it?
No more or no less
7. Is food from small farms safer than larger farmers?
Size does not determine safety. Management does.
8. Does buying my food local, or at a farmer’s market automatically mean it’s safer and healthier?
Doesn’t determine safety or healthfulness but does tend to taste better, have more unique properties, and it is always nice to know the person (s) who directly produced your food.
9. Are fresh/frozen foods healthier than canned foods?
Flash frozen foods freshly harvested are shown to maintain more of their nutrients than other options. I would venture to say this is somewhat miniscule, however, I’m not qualified to say either way. My opinion is fruits and vegetables, regardless of fresh/frozen or canned are always good choices for a healthy well balanced diet.
Amy
Cattle Farmer, USDA slaughter/processor, Retail Meat Market, and Mom.
Thanks so much for your answers to my questions! I really appreciate your honesty while answering #3. I was having a hard time articulating responses when faced with similar questions from my friends and family. I wanted to defend agriculture, but didn’t feel that I was educated enough to respond appropriately. So thanks for helping to better educate me – hopefully I’ll do a better job next time!
Dear Amy, Thank you for being forthright and so comprehensive. There is so much for a mother or food provider to analyze — thanks to all the choices! – and it is good to have this guidance. As for local food, of course it is dependent on the health of the local ecosystem but if you are eating the vegetables and fruits that the grower eats — and most farmers’ markets have the requirement that the person selling is the farmer and that the farmer lives on the farm = I feel better about buying it. After all, they are often mothers too!
As for #8, local foods are often picked at a time appropriate for the fruit, rather than appropriate for the shipping schedule, and so may have more amino acids/sugars/liquid which we are hard to get any other way — even from vitamin pills.
Thank you again, Amy, and Mrs. for the nice forum.
I can echo many of the same sentiments as my fellow farmers above but these Fact Sheets really say it much better than I can. They will answer many of your questions about antibiotics and hormones. http://www.facesofag.com/facts.html
Thanks! That link is really helpful and informative!
Thanks Mrs. for posting the questions all of us non-producers ask ourselves daily. We are all trying to do the best we can for ourselves and families, it is so important to maintain an open dialogue between consumer and producer. It is wonderful that you’ve all taken the time to respond. As a consumer I thank you. As I read through the very thoughtful responses left by many producers it strikes me that there is so much more to say.
Who monitors farms to ensure beef and milk doesn’t leave the farm with unacceptable levels of hormones and antibiotics? It is so sad to hear when supporting local farmers selling “organic berries” you can still be buying food that’s unsafe.
While I personally prefer to have food that was not treated with chemicals and pesticides how can I be sure that it’s safe? What does organic really mean?
An on-going dialogue between us all would be a great idea.
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