Fattened cattle: How bad are they for your health?

According to the Directorate of Livestock, approximately 4.5 million cows and buffaloes and 7.1 millions of goat and sheep will be scarified during Eid day of this year. Reports on television and in newspapers say that most of these cattle are fattened up all around the country to fetch higher prices at Eid-ul-Azha markets. Different studies from Bangladesh have shown that around 63.7 percent of the cattle have been reared using steroids and growth hormones. Of them, only 35 percent are raised by farmers trained and skilled in the use of such chemical compounds. So we must ask, what is the situation regarding the use of cattle hormones in our country.

The government has taken an initiative to reduce and restrict the use of hormones in the cattle market. However, there are still many greedy farmers and brokers who will use growth hormones and steroids to fatten cattle in the search for profits. Many steroids such as Dexamethasone or Decason, Betamethasone, Periactin, Decason, Oradexon, Prednisolon, Betnenal, Cortan, Steron and Adam-33 are injected directly into cows to increase their growth and body mass. Some illegal steroids, called 'Red-White' tablets are also coming across the border from India. These drugs create abnormal pressures on the kidneys and livers of cows, preventing them from passing water from the body and bulking them up.

A closer look at the cows raised on such hormones shows they have some identifiable characteristics. These cows are less energetic than other cattle and tend to stand in place without moving more often. Their skin is also abnormally smooth.  The skin is also likely to be less sensitive, and cattle raised on steroids may respond slower to stimuli such as touch. The cows raised on steroids also breathe more heavily than normal cows. The upper part of the noses of steroid-raised cows are also dry, compared to the wet noses of other cattle. But it is still very difficult to distinguish between normal cows and those fattened medicine.

What, then, are the health consequences of consuming meat from such cattle? The US Food and Drug Administration has approved only a few growth hormones for commercial use while restricting the "acceptable daily intake" (ADI). Since 2006 the European Union has banned all types of growth promoters from cattle feed. Some research has also been conducted on this matter.

In one study by Swan et al (2007) at Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, USA, which looked at pregnant women and their children, found that 18 percent of the sons born to women in the high beef consumption group had sperm concentrations below sub-fertility levels. In another study in 2004 by Renehan Department of Surgery, Christie Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester, UK, high levels of insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were shown to inhibit body defence mechanisms and raise the risk of prostate cancer by 50 percent and that of hormone-dependent premenopausal breast cancer by 65 percent. Children face the most risk. In a 2010 research study published in "The Journal of Clinical Investigation" by John Hopkins University, researcher Sara DiVall found that mice with IGF-1 entered puberty earlier than the control group.  Reaching puberty at a young age may increase your risk of cancer and other health problems. The scientific committees of the European Union and Canada have also claimed that recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) may also be associated with cancers.

Under these circumstances, how can we try and reduce our exposure to such artificial hormones? I have a few suggestions:

– Firstly, try to buy the healthy cattle that have not been raised on such hormones. Check for the previously mentioned identifying symptoms before making purchases. If consumers reject artificially fattened cattle, fewer will be brought to the market.

– More veterinarians should be assigned to check the quality of cattle in the market and legal action should be taken those traders who are abusing hormones and other chemicals.

– The negative effects of such hormones also depend on the concentration. If we can limit our intake of meat during and after Eid, it could minimize the health hazards. Perhaps we can also look to alternatives, such as chicken or fish.

– As children have lower body weight and are more vulnerable to these hormones, their meat consumption should also be reduced accordingly. This should also apply to pregnant women, who also face higher risks.