Let me just put the terms of the debate in layman's terms. Hormones occur naturally in all plants and animals, at widely varying levels. The egg you buy in the supermarket has about as much estradiol, a naturally occurring hormone, as 6 kilograms of beef from a steer treated with the same hormone. Even among cattle, hormone levels vary widely. A bull has a higher hormone level than a steer.
European beef comes predominately from bulls, American from steers.
Thus, European beef may actually contain more hormones than American hormone treated beef. Regardless of whether you are eating bull or steer, the amount of hormones on your plate is tiny compared to what your body produces. For instance, the average man produces 15,000 times more of the hormone estradiol daily than the amount contained in 500 grams of beef from steer treated with hormones. Yet, in the face of long-established evidence, the EU has determined that U.S. beef is unsafe until further tests have completed. Let me return to the importance of respecting the rules of international trade.