The Beef Hormone Dispute

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the dispute over beef hormones between the United States and the European Union has been ongoing for two decades, escalating to a ban on American beef treated with hormones, despite scientific studies supporting the fact that certain approved growth hormones posed no public health threat. The author points out that the pandemonium in the E.U. started in the early 1980s over synthetic hormone diethylstilbestrol (DES), which was banned in the United States in 1979 because of its links to cancer and birth defects, was detected in some imported baby food made with veal. The paper shows, therefore, that four European countries prohibited all hormone use in cattle, which eventually led to the ban of American beef. The paper relates that the core of the difference is that American consumers and authorities have embraced technological breakthroughs relating to foodstuffs; whereas, the Europeans tend to shy away from such advancements: In the end, the beef hormone dispute appears to be at a stalemate.

From the Paper:

"The use of certain growth hormones in the American beef industry was a common occurrence in the 1970s and 1980s. American farmers saw the immediate benefits of growing beefier beef cattle and enthusiastically accepted the practice. The growth hormones, used by the United States, are actually a pellet that is implanted under the animal's skin, behind the ears. This time-release capsule slowly releases the hormones over the period of several weeks, during significant stages of growth. The cost effectiveness of this process is significant"

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