MOBeef Update

For anyone following me on Twitter, it’s no secret I’ve been traveling across Missouri to represent agriculture as the reigning Missouri State Fair Queen.

A country girl at heart, there aren’t enough words to explain how much I’ve enjoyed the chance to meet folks who share my passion for agriculture.

Even at the smallest of county fairs, I’ve also gotten the chance to share ag’s story with new friends who don’t come from an ag background.

It’s interesting the kinds of questions I hear when people find out my personal and professional interests involve livestock production. Just last night, I was having dinner with some ladies involved in the fair queen pageant when one asked about rumors she’s heard about hormones in her food. Being health conscious, I’ll say I’ve done a decent amoung of reading on the subject. In my search for scientific facts, this is what I’ve learned.

For starters, hormones are a must for all living things. This first chart gives a detailed illustration for the levels of estrogen our bodies produce daily. In fact, one reason mothers breastfeed is to pass nutrients, including hormones, along to their babies to ensure healthy growing.

Now check out the following graphic to see the levels of estrogen in the food we eat.

You’ll notice only 1.9 nanograms of estrogen is present in every 3 oz. serving of beef enhanced with growth promotants. Compare that to the 1.2 nanograms of estrogen found in beef marketed as “no hormones added.” And how big is a nanogram exactly? Think of a football field as a gram. A nanogram would then represent one blade of grass. But wait! 35,000 blades of grass on that same field represent the 35,000 nanograms of estrogen in a daily dose of birth control.

Now what does all of  this mean? With a little simple math, it would take 3,455 lbs of enhanced beef to consume the same amount of estrogen packed into one tiny birth control pill. For you hamburger lovers, that’s 13,820 quarter-pound specials, all in one day.

Even my beef-healthy appetite can’t find enough room to fit that many burgers into one day, week, month, or even a year’s worth of meals.

So take your next bite of beef with comfort, knowing it’s still the safe, quality meat your family has come to enjoy.