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TTIP TALKS are stuck on various food issues amount other things, including the controversial use of hormones in meat animals. The European community is firmly against the practice, and the US is firmly for it. "has exposed an "enormous gulf" that threatens the world's biggest trade pact." http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/eu-usa-trade-idUSL6N0M920R20140312 View in LinkedIn

EXTREME DEPRIVATION OF MODERN CHICKEN. "The chicken is an extreme example of a young animal which is deprived of contact with its mother or other adults and which is, therefore, likely to benefit from supplementation with microbial preparations designed to restore the protective gut microflora." http://lnkd.in/daFHfmP View in LinkedIn

EU DES CONTROVERSY. "Further claims that contributed significantly to the ban by the EU ... infants who ate food containing the hormone diethystilbene (DES) developed breasts. The infant girls also began menstruating ... the EU concluded that U.S. beef which was fed or treated with these growth hormones posed a health risk to consumers." http://lnkd.in/dv-EN2y View in LinkedIn

MICROBIOTA INOCULATION MISSING FROM START. "In the wild, the chicken would receive a complete gut flora from its mother's faeces and would consequently be protected against infection. However, commercially reared chickens are hatched in incubators which are clean and do not usually contain organisms commonly found in the chicken gut." A basic biological error. http://lnkd.in/daFHfmP View in LinkedIn

THE 1973 US DES BAN. "Several reports confirm that DES endangers the health of animals and man, when repeatedly used in large doses. However, as regards risks due to the presence of residues in meat produced according to regulations, no documented deleterious effects have ever been reported in man." One position statement. http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/x6533e/x6533e01.htm View in LinkedIn

THE DES DEBACLE. "Beginning in the mid-1950s, DES (diethylstilboestrol) and hexoestrol were administered to cattle increasingly in the US and the UK respectively, either as feed additives or as implants, and other types of substances also gradually became available. In general, such treatment has resulted in 10–15% increases in daily gains." http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/x6533e/x6533e01.htm View in LinkedIn

DES WITHDRAWN. "From about 1940 to 1971, DES was given to pregnant women in the mistaken belief it would reduce the risk of pregnancy complications and losses. In 1971, DES was shown to cause a rare vaginal tumor in girls and women who had been exposed to this drug in utero." The FDA withdrew DES from use in pregnant women. http://lnkd.in/dGiQjwi View in LinkedIn

WHAT IS DES? "Diethylstilbestrol (DES, former BAN stilboestrol) is a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen that was first synthesized in 1938. It is also classified as an endocrine disruptor. Human exposure to DES occurred through diverse sources, such as dietary ingestion from supplemented cattle feed and medical treatment for certain conditions, including breast and prostate cancers." http://lnkd.in/dGiQjwi View in LinkedIn

HORMONES AS MEAT GROWTH ENHANCERS. "Since the 1950s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a number of steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep, including natural ... and their synthetic versions. These drugs increase the animals’ growth rate, the efficiency ... and the leanness of their meat." http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm055436.htm View in LinkedIn

HORMONE GROWTH ENHANCERS can be either natural or synthetic hormones. Proponents have argued that there are no adverse effects from such molecules or their synthetic mimetics. A synthetic version of a hormone was thought to behave identically to the natural molecule. Unfortunately, this is not as simple as it sounds. View in LinkedIn