I would like to thank anyone who has been following my blog the past 10 weeks. It has been a new experience for me. It was sometimes challenging but also fun. Digging into a topic that was informative but interesting made the ten weeks of blogging go by very quickly. I'm not sure if I will continue on with my blog, but I know for sure I will always be an Ag advocate in one way or another. The cattle industry is very near and dear to my heart so I am very glad I had the chance to do this blog. I hope that I was able to educate on the importance of growth promotants in a easy to understand fashion. The industry has grown drastically and so has the amount of technology we use when raising out livestock. If you would like to keep updated about the beef industry
and growth hormones as well there are always new articles
being posted on the Facts about Beef Website.

I covered quiet a few different topics about growth promotant used in beef industry including , how are they used, why they are used, what age they are used, if they are safe to humans, types of misconceptions people have and much more. My main goal throughout the last ten weeks was to tie them all together in one way or another to demonstrate the importance and the benefits industry professionals gain from the use of implants. 

Again, I would like to thank any of my followers for reading my posts! 

Beef Checkoff? What is that all about?

The Beef Checkoff Program is a producer-funded marketing and research program. It is designed to increase domestic demand for beef. The Beef Checkoff focuses on research, promotion and new product development.

The Program has been around since 1985 when the farm bill was passed. There are a few ways that the checkoff program receives its funds including the following examples

1. All producers pay $1 each time a beef animal is sold throughout its lifetime

2. 50 cents of every dollar collected by state beef councils is invested in the beef council

To find out more how the checkoff earns money click here 

 The program requires that checkoff dollars must be used to increase consumer demand for beef. The program focuses on “The Beef Act”. This defines six program categories: promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing, and producer communication.

Within the Beef Checkoff Program there are also committees. These committees are broken down into operating, administration, checkoff programs committees and checkoff working groups. From here these committees are broken down even smaller and this is where they make things happen. Each committee has a purpose statement and strategic initiatives.

Under the Innovation Checkoff Program Committee is where I found the ties to my blog. I found a recent article written on Growth Promotant Research.  The article was focused on growth promotants reducing environmental impacts. It states in the article “Growth promoting technologies can reduce the environmental impact of beef production by decreasing the number of cattle required to produce a given amount of beef. Additionally, growth promoting technologies allow farmers and ranchers to feed more U.S. citizens with each beef animal that is raised under their care.” Click here to read more in depth about the growth promotant research. 

The Beef Checkoff works in all areas of the industry to continue to increase the demand of beef within our own country and also internationally, fund product enhancement and beef research programs and deliver positive messages to consumers about the beef industry today. 

Sources: http://www.beefboard.org/committee/innovation

https://www.beefboard.org/producer/CBBFinalUnderstandingBrochure.pdf

http://www.beefboard.org/news/160412NF_Growth-Promotant-Research.as

 

Do Hormones in Milk, Meat and Eggs Cause Early Puberty?

Early onset of puberty in today’s youth is a very touchy subject for many parents across the United States. This is one of the myths circling the online web.  It is considered a risk factor for many different diseases in adulthood including cancers related to hormones, shorter life or different diseases related to the cardiovascular system.

 Early puberty is being blamed on drinking milk, eating eggs and also eating beef. The phenomenon is called precocious puberty. According to Dr. Etherton on the Best Food Facts website he states “There are zillions of proteins hormones in both plant and animal foods. They are digested in the stomach, which kills their ability to have any biological activity. There is just no way to come to a science-based conclusion that hormones in food or dairy products cause early puberty.” 

It's debatable if this has always been an issue or if it a new issue on the rise.  Here is a statement from a professional reporting on livesceince.com “Doctors think that this is happening with greater frequency since the 1990’s especially among girls. Doctors say the likely cause, if any, is childhood obesity: That is, it's not what's in the food but food itself, and lots of it, in all it's fatty-sugary glory, coupled with inactivity.” Girls who are overweight are more likely to enter puberty early than thinner girls, and the ties between obesity and puberty start at a very young age.

This topic has parents worried about the “new normal” of early puberty. Some parents are still convinced it is because of beef and other foods their children are eating. A few steps parents are taking to avoid early puberty are eliminating breads, pasta and potatoes from the diet, cutting out soda and juice, and limiting the amount of tv watched. 

Sources: 

http://www.bestfoodfacts.org/food-for-thought/hormones-milkmeat-earlypuberty

http://www.livescience.com/1824-truth-early-puberty.html