U.S. beef is safe. FDA has approved the six hormones for use to increase feed efficiency and promote growth in cattle. Prior to approval, the specific conditions of use were extensively evaluated for safety to consumers of meat products. The United States has an extensive regulatory control system to ensure the proper use of these hormones. The U.S. system includes comprehensive food safety standards that are based on sound, internationally-recognized scientific criteria.
Hormones occur naturally in many foods.
Consumers are exposed every day to foods with higher hormone levels than those found in any beef from animals treated with hormones. A person would need to eat over 6 kilograms of beef from animals treated with these hormones in order to equal the amount of those hormones found in one egg. One pint glass of milk from an untreated cow contains about 9 times as much estradiol as a 250 gram portion of meat from a steer raised using hormones. Even plants produce the equivalent of sex hormones. Soybeans, wheat germ and broccoli contain high levels of plant estrogens.