Introduction

The Issue
More than 80% of antibiotics that are being sold in the United States are being used on
livestock. The issue with farmers giving their livestock antibiotics is that they are given to the
animals that are not always sick (foodfarmanimals). Antibiotics are given to animals to help them
produce more meat, with the antibiotic causing them to gain more weight. When the antibiotics
are given to the animal it is able to grow as much as 3% more weight that they would without the
antibiotics. Fifteen to seventeen million pounds are used yearly in the United States for the
animals that are used to produce meat. (antibioticdebateoverview) Not only are farmers pumping
their livestock with antibiotics, but they are using hormones as well. Estimated amounts of 80%
of all United State cattle that are in feedlots are injected with hormones. The Hormones are used
to help the cow not only grow faster, but to also increase milk production. (hormones) Before the
hormones were injected into milk the average dairy cow would be able to produce up to almost
5,300 pounds of milk in a year, but today with the hormones that they are injecting into the cattle
they are able to produce more than 20,000 pounds on average. (hormones) Some of the natural
occurring hormones that are already being produced in your body are being increased to 7 to
20% in the livestock due to the hormones that they are being injected with (hormones).

(useofantibiotics)

Significance
The significance this brings is huge. The antibiotics and hormones that are put into
livestock are affecting human health at great impacts. When the livestock is given an antibiotic
whether it is not ill, or trying to fight off an infection it creates a good environment for the
antibiotic resistant bacteria to multiply and thrive. (foodfarmanimals) With humans eating the
meat that the farmers are putting antibiotics in, they could become resistant to the antibiotic and
end up with not being able to respond to any of the antibiotics if they are prescribed any from a
doctor because of a sickness or infection that needs to be cured. (antibioticdebateoverview) With

the hormones that are injected into the livestock it is possible for the hormones in the dairy that
you drink to cause high health risks. The use of growth hormones in the livestock has been
linked to studies that have been completed in human twin and triplet birth. The people who are
mostly affected by the hormones that are being added to the dairy products are children, pregnant
women, and the developing embryos. (hormones) Women have been known to be at a higher risk
of health effects because of the hormones. (progesterone)
The Future
If meat and dairy products keep being produced with hormones and antibiotics than
future generations are at high risks. Young teen/ pre-teens are at the most risk of future problems
because of the antibiotics and hormones that are added into meat. Due to the amount of extra
natural occurring hormones that are added to the dairy that the age group is drinking it is causing
them to go through puberty at much younger ages than they used to (arehormonesin)
Purpose
The purpose of me doing this research paper is to look at the additives that are being put
into livestock and how it is affecting human health. I will do this by explaining the cause, draw
conclusions, and make recommendations, and make an action plan.
A Deeper Understanding
Justification of Case Study
My case study about the issue of the additives that are being put in livestock and how it is
affecting human health will include details about what hormones they are using, what antibiotics
they are using, why the farmers are doing this, and the history of hormones and antibiotics in
meat. Throughout my case study, I will also explain why this is a significance issue in todays
society. My study will focus more specifically on the additives that are put in cattle.

Problem
Antibiotics are not always given to cattle that are sick, or have an infection to be fighting
off (foodfarmanimals). Antibiotics are given to cattle in order for them to gain more weight,
which will produce more meat, and make more money for the farmer/owner of the cattle
(antibioticdebateoverview). When the antibiotic is given to the cattle the animal is able to grow
up to three percent more than it would without using those antibiotics
(antibioticdebateoverview). Farmers are injecting hormones into cattle in hope that the hormone
will help the cattle produce more milk (Gandhirenuph.d).

(JoyJones)

What Antibiotics are they using?

Throughout the process of the cattle getting antibiotics the farmer is using multiple
different types of antibiotics, but all of the antibiotics are being used for the same thing, which is
to help the animal grow faster (antibioticuseinlivestock). The four different types of antibiotics
that are being used are called bambermycin, lasalocid, monensin, and salinomycin.
Bambermycin is used for increase feed conversion ratio, and growth promotion in cattle. With
this antibiotic being used for the increase in feed conversion and growth promotion the cattle will
be eating more than it normally does, and will grow bigger in size because of how much they are
eating, and the part of it which is promoting growth. Lasalocid is used for the increase in feed
conversion ratio, with this antibiotic it is just causing the cattle to be able to eat more than they
normally would which is still resulting in them gaining weight and making more of a profit for
the farmer. Monensin is used for the increase feed conversion ratio, and increase weight gain in
cattle. This is causing the cattle to be eating more than it normally would and also increase in its
weight, which could lead the cow to be unhealthy. Salinomycin is used for the increase feed
conversion ratio, and increase in weight gain. This antibiotic is causing the animal to eat more
than it should be which is causing it to gain more weight along with all the weight that it is
gaining from the increase weight gain part of the antibiotic as well. All of these antibiotics are
resulting the cattles feed conversion ratio to increase which is already causing the cattle to grow,
and when you add the increase weight gain on top of the increase in the cattles feed it is causing
it to grow an unhealthy amount. (antibioticuseinlivestock)
What Hormones are they using?
There are multiple different types of hormones that are being farmers are giving to their
cattle. There are a total of six hormones altogether of that six there are three that are naturally

occurring hormones and three that are synthetic.(hormones) The natural occurring hormones are
the ones that already occur in your body, but the synthetic hormones that they use are made by
chemicals (hormones). The three hormones that are naturally occurring to the cattle and to
humans are: Oestradiol, Progesterone, and Testosterone (hormones). Oestradiol is a steroid
hormone that is made from cholesterol; oestradiol is the strongest one of the three natural
occurring hormones that is given to cattle. The Oestradiol acts to mature and maintain the female
reproductive system. (oestradiol) Progesterone is one of the three natural hormones that are
given to cattle. The progesterone hormone is used to stimulate and regulate important functions,
such as maintaining pregnancy, getting your body for conception, and regulating monthly
menstrual cycles. (progesterone). Testosterone is the last one of the three natural occurring
hormones that is given to cattle. The testosterone is an important part in the development of male
reproductive tissues. (1-testostrone) The three synthetic hormones that they are using are
Zeranol, Trenbolone, and Melengestrol (hormones). Zeranol is a growth promoter with potent
estrogenic activity (zeranol). Trenbolone is a steroid used to increase muscle growth and appetite
(trenbolone). Melengestrol is used as a growth promoter for livestock (melengestrol).

(omahasteaks)
History of Antibiotics in Meat
Since the 1900s livestock production in United States on farms has had to have large
quantities of meat available, and they had to have the meat ready over a short period of time. The
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reason they had to have so much meat produced in such little time was because they wanted to
meet the new consumer demand for meat. In 1910 meat shortage happened in the United States.
The shortage of meat ended up resulting in protest and boycotts. The boycott and protests ended,
and in public demand for a stabilization of food supplies, the government had to do research in
order to please what the public wished for. (antibiotics) Urea was the first organic chemical to be
produced, and by the 1930s it had been recognized as a valuable supplement in the livestock
feed. (antibiotic&feedadditives)
The form of livestock production started to change during the 1940s. When antibiotics
started to be used for livestock, because of them being sick, they also noticed that the animal was
getting healthy, but the cattle was growing faster as well. During World War II there was a
shortage of livestock feed crops, meaning that there was not enough feed for all the livestock the
farmers had. In 1948 an important growth factor in livestock was discovered which vitamin B12
was. By the end of this decade they discovered vitamins, proteins, antibiotics, and as well other
nutrients were all manufactured in feeds, and or as additives in the feed. Manufacturers of the
feeds accounted for twenty three percent of the market. The additive market was worth 17.5
million dollars alone. (antibiotics&feedadditives)
In 1950 a group of scientist from the United States found that with the farmers adding
antibiotics to the animals feed would increase the growth rate that livestock grew at, causing
them to grow faster. In 1952 there was two million pounds of antibiotics that were produced for
the livestock population. By 199 there was at least fifty million pounds of antibiotics that were
produced and only half of the fifty million pounds that were produced were for human use, forty
percent of the antibiotics produced were used for livestock, and the other ten percent was for

both human and animal use. In 2011 eighty percent of the antibiotics that were produced went
towards the livestock production. (antibiotics)
History of Hormones in Meat
During the 1930s farmers realized that the cows that were injected with the hormone
material that was drawn from the pituitary gland on the cow produced more milk. The cows
growth hormone that is from the pituitary gland was found to be responsible for the cow
producing more meat. During the time that they found this out technology did not exist and with
technology not existing they were not able to produce enough of the hormone to use for large
scale animals. During the 1980s it became possible to start producing large amounts of pure
bovine growth hormone by using recombinant DNA technology. Not long after they started
producing large amounts of the bovine growth hormone, the recombinant bovine growth
hormone was given the approval by the food and drug administration for the use of it in cattle.
Estimates from the manufacture of the hormone indicate that thirty percent of the cattle in the
United States may be getting treated with the recombinant bovine growth hormone. Once people
started understanding the chemistry of estrogen, it became possible to start making the hormone
synthetically in large amounts at a time. In the early 1950s synthetic estrogen was starting to be
used to increase cattle size. (Consumersconcernabout) In 1950 food and drug administration has
approved of a number of multiple steroid hormone drugs that are for use in cattle
(USfoodanddrug).

(cowscanalso)

Significance
Medical Conditions
When giving antibiotics to animals that are used for the production of meat humans are
eating it could cause the person who is eating meat to have antibiotic resistant bacteria
(antibiotics). Bacteria is being continually exposed to being exposed to small amounts of
antibiotics can become immune to them. Its a case of survival of the fittest with the strongest
bacteria that are least susceptible to a specific antibiotic surviving, adapting, and multiply

(antibiotics), when this happens it is called resistant bacteria. The Center for Disease Control
estimates that about two million people have developed bacterial infections in hospitals, and of
that two million people 70% are resistant to at least one of the commonly used antibiotic to treat
the diseases. Since the bacteria have become immune to the point to which the antibiotics have
begun to lose their effectiveness against some diseases, which are treated with antibiotics.
(antibiotic). With the superbug outbreaks that happen in 2011, there were many cases of
salmonella. There were nineteen infections and seven of the infections got to the point where the
person had to be hospitalized. All of the infections were linked to a strain of salmonella. The
salmonella was resistant to many different types of antibiotics that were being used in trying to
cure the infections. (theoveruseof)
With the hormones that are being given to dairy cows and then are put into dairy products
it could cause a series of medical conditions. Early puberty in kids has been a huge aspect of the
medical conditions due to the hormones in dairy products. Hormone use has been suspected for
early puberty in girls starting at age eight or younger. Girls who have started puberty at younger
ages have been found to be associated with having a risk for breast cancer. (growthhormonesin)
Since rBGH is present in the cattles blood stimulates the production of another type of which is
Insulin-Like Growth Factor -1 (IGF-1). This hormone is responsible for quick growth in infants
both cattle, and humans, and affects the cells growth. When the cows milk is being consumed by
non-infants it will act as a cancer accelerator. Because the IGF-1 doesnt get taken out of the
milk during pasteurization or while the human is digestion it; since it doesnt get broken down it
is biologically active in humans and could be associated with breast, prostate, and colon cancer.
(bovinegrowthhormone)

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Eating beef while pregnant has been known to be associated with lower sperm volume
and possible subfertility. Hormones that are being added into the cattle could be harmful for
pregnant women. Pregnant women who are going to have boys are at the highest risk, the risk
that they have is that the baby boy that the women is pregnant with could have an offset sperm
count. For the mothers who eat low amounts of beef their boys sperm volume was 24.3% lower
than normal. Eighteen percent of the baby boys that have been born to mothers who eat higher
amounts of beef had lower sperm volume and the start of subfertility, which is about three times
more than baby boys born to women who ate lower amounts of beef. (growthhormonesfeed)

Conclusion
What I have learned
Based on everything that I have learned throughout these past few months spent
researching the issue of additives in meat and how it affects human health I have learned great
amounts. What I have learned is that the additives that are being put in are affecting human
health greatly, and the humans that are consuming the products dont know much about it, and
how it could affect their kids now and in the long term, and how it could affect themselves.
Throughout my research time I have also learned about all the antibiotics and the hormones that
are being added into the meats and what each one that the farmers are putting in. Reading
everything that they put into the cattle really amazed me, because none of the stuff that they are
putting into the cattle helps it immune system it is all too just help it grow, and grow faster. After

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learning about all the hormones and antibiotics that are injected into the livestock, it disgusted
me so much to the point to where I have pretty much cut meat out of my diet.

Recommendations
The recommendations that I have for the consumers and non-consumers of beef are to be
aware of what you are eating, and what is being put into the animal. Not only should you be
aware of the antibiotics that are being added into the meats you need to be aware of all the
hormones that are being put into dairy products. Before just going to the store and picking out
the cheapest type of meat, and or dairy products look into a little more, look into what you are
putting into your body. I also recommend fighting for your right to make it so the farmers are not
allowed to be giving these antibiotics and hormones into cattle anymore. It is illegal in all the
other countries and now its United States turn to make it illegal for the farmers to using these
short of things on livestock.

Action Plan
What I am going to be doing to make people more aware of what is being put into cattle
and how it affects them is make an informative flyer and hand them out. On the flyer there will
all of the different types of antibiotics that are added into the meat, and all the hormones that are
being added into the dairy products. I will also have on the flyer information about how it is
harmful for your body and how it can affect you greatly. Other than just having the flyer I will be
informing people personally about how it affects your health and how it could cause serious
health conditions. I will also inform the people about the antibiotic and the hormone that is added

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in and give specific information about each and every one. Not only will I be telling them about
each and every one, but I will also be informing them on what it does to the cattle and what the
antibiotic and hormoe is mainly used for.

(thebenefitsof)

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