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There’s been a lot of news about the state of our meat, and none of it is good. Now it looks like we have another thing to worry about.
So what is it? It’s not saturated fat, and it’s not even an antibiotic. It’s a different kind of drug, called a beta-antagonist, which is supposed to help animals pack on the muscle and protein we so love to eat. Its official name is ractopamine.
Around 60 to 80 percent of pigs are fed this drug before slaughter, so it’s pretty widespread. The reason it’s coming up now is because the USDA is now letting companies use “produced without ractopamine” as a label on their meat.
Of course, this is just an arbitrary label like any other, most likely just to try and make their meat healthier than it is. But it has caused quite a stir, so it’s worth at least examining.
What’s so bad about it?
There isn’t much data on what it does to humans, but in the animals it’s used on, it can cause broken bones, hyperactivity, and death.
Though the FDA approved the use of the drug in 1999, many other countries won’t touch it. In Europe, a safety panel said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that eating this meat is safe. Even China often turns away shipments of meat with ractopamine in it.
Don’t worry, it’s not that hard to avoid. You don’t even have to look for that new label in order to avoid it. Buying organic, local, and “natural” all can help you avoid this drug, as well as any other worrisome beta-antagonists.
