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Alarm over beef link to breast cancer
22:01pm 2nd July 2006
Fears about eating beef from cattle pumped up with growth hormones have been raised by a government expert.
John Verrall said there is alarming evidence it can trigger breast and other cancers, bring forward puberty in girls and increase the risk of genital abnormalities in boys.
Mr Verrall, a member of a Government advisory committee, is so concerned that he has defied an official attempt to gag him.
He points to a rise in rates of breast and prostate cancer in the U.S., where two-thirds of cattle are treated with hormones.
The EU currently bans the use of growth or sex hormones to fatten up cattle and speed their maturity.
It also forbids imports of American beef from the U.S. which is produced using an array of hormones.
But there are serious doubts whether the ban is being enforced, as there is no testing of imports for tell-tale hormone residue.
In any case, the U.S. government, with the support of Tony Blair's administration, is trying to have the embargo lifted. The Government's Veterinary Products Committee is due to publish a report in the next few days which will declare that beef produced with hormones is safe.
This could clear the way for farmers in this country to use growth hormone injections and speed the lifting of the ban on imports of 'super-size' beef from the U.S.
But Mr Verrall, a pharmaceutical chemist who was appointed to the VPC to represent consumer interests, has refused to sanction the all-clear.
He wanted to publish a minority report to highlight the dangers, but the committee, supported by the food and farming department DEFRA headed by David Miliband, refused to allow it.
Despite this, Mr Verrall has decided to go public.
The suspect hormones are oestradiol, testosterone, progesterone, zeranol, trenbolone and melegesterol acetate.
Mr Verrall said: 'There is clear evidence of the risk to human health posed by these hormones.'
He cited research showing that oestradiol is considered a cancer risk. Work by a highly-respected Danish university found that residues of oestradiol in treated beef were up to five times higher than the levels in other cattle.
The hormones can disrupt the natural balance in the body, with the danger of multiple biological effects.
rest of the article located here
22:01pm 2nd July 2006
Fears about eating beef from cattle pumped up with growth hormones have been raised by a government expert.
John Verrall said there is alarming evidence it can trigger breast and other cancers, bring forward puberty in girls and increase the risk of genital abnormalities in boys.
Mr Verrall, a member of a Government advisory committee, is so concerned that he has defied an official attempt to gag him.
He points to a rise in rates of breast and prostate cancer in the U.S., where two-thirds of cattle are treated with hormones.
The EU currently bans the use of growth or sex hormones to fatten up cattle and speed their maturity.
It also forbids imports of American beef from the U.S. which is produced using an array of hormones.
But there are serious doubts whether the ban is being enforced, as there is no testing of imports for tell-tale hormone residue.
In any case, the U.S. government, with the support of Tony Blair's administration, is trying to have the embargo lifted. The Government's Veterinary Products Committee is due to publish a report in the next few days which will declare that beef produced with hormones is safe.
This could clear the way for farmers in this country to use growth hormone injections and speed the lifting of the ban on imports of 'super-size' beef from the U.S.
But Mr Verrall, a pharmaceutical chemist who was appointed to the VPC to represent consumer interests, has refused to sanction the all-clear.
He wanted to publish a minority report to highlight the dangers, but the committee, supported by the food and farming department DEFRA headed by David Miliband, refused to allow it.
Despite this, Mr Verrall has decided to go public.
The suspect hormones are oestradiol, testosterone, progesterone, zeranol, trenbolone and melegesterol acetate.
Mr Verrall said: 'There is clear evidence of the risk to human health posed by these hormones.'
He cited research showing that oestradiol is considered a cancer risk. Work by a highly-respected Danish university found that residues of oestradiol in treated beef were up to five times higher than the levels in other cattle.
The hormones can disrupt the natural balance in the body, with the danger of multiple biological effects.
rest of the article located here
thanks to Deepsycher for article and title
i'm not suprised really... i suppose after MAD COW DISEASE, cancer just seams like old news...
nice to know that yet again, the heads of the western world have chosen trade over public civilian saftey...
yay!
a-holes.
in other news: Piece of man's skull falls off, draws crowds
edit: hmmm link choke: http://news.yahoo.co...HBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-
cut and paste...
edit: 2: screw it... go google it, happened in india...
This post has been edited by barend: 07 July 2006 - 01:00 AM
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