Target: Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the FDA and Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture (USDA)
Goal: Ban the use of cancer causing hormone in livestock.
Zeranol is widely and routinely given to cattle in the United States despite studies that demonstrate its harmful effects in humans and recommendations against the practice by groups including The Breast Cancer Fund. Furthermore, companies are currently not forced to disclose their use of Zeranol by labeling their products. Zeranol is used to increase the animal’s growth in a shorter amount of time than occurs naturally. This practice allows livestock companies to produce more beef at a faster rate, therefore maximizing profits. While their profit margins are expanding, however, consumers are unwittingly eating meat that could potentially give them cancer.
Zeranol is a synthetic estrogenic chemical that mimics the naturally occurring hormone estradiol and a carcinogen called diethylstilbestrol (DES). When zeranol is introduced to human breast cells in the laboratory, the cells grow much more quickly and produce cancerous enzymes. This type of abnormal growth has even been detected in cells that were given zeranol at rates 30 times lower than FDA-approved standards. The chemical has also been linked to precocious puberty in young girls, further heightening their risk for developing breast cancer later in life.
It is this type of evidence that motivated the European Economic Community (EEC) and other countries to ban the importation of meat and milk from the United States in 1989. Not only does scientific evidence demonstrate the harmful effects of zeranol in the food supply, but the use of such chemicals is largely unregulated by the FDA and USDA. The USDA does not test meat products for hormonal residue levels, nor does it regulate the amounts administered to cows or the methods in which it is given. Neither the FDA nor the USDA has required companies to tell consumers if their meat has been given such harmful chemicals. It is clear that the companies care less about the wellbeing of their consumers and animals and care more about their bottom line.
By signing the petition below, you will join others in demanding that the FDA and USDA protect consumers by banning the cancer-causing chemical zeranol in U.S. meat.
Dear Dr. Margaret Hamburg and Tom Vilsack,
The administration of Zeranol and other growth promoters to U.S. livestock is unacceptable given the scientific evidence that demonstrates links between their usage in livestock and cancer in humans. Laboratory studies show that when zeranol is introduced to human breast tissue, cells grow at an abnormal pace and cancerous enzymes are produced, even when amounts are used at rates 30 times lower than current FDA standards. The use of zeranol has also been linked to precocious puberty in young girls, which further heightens their risk of developing breast cancer later in life.
This blatant disregard for consumers’ health is simply unacceptable. It is the duties of the FDA and USDA to protect citizens against destructive practices such as this. I urge you to join the European Union and other countries in banning the use of growth-promoting chemicals like Zeranol in cattle. Doing so could help eliminate an environmental cause of cancer in humans and benefit the health of your fellow citizens for years to come.
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Maggie Smith via Freedigitalphotos.net