Dear Reader.
Less than 1% of the beef marketed in South Africa is grass fed beef. The rest is produced in a feedlot where grains are the major part of the feed ration. Other assistants include antibiotics and growth hormones. But the real boost to performance and hence profitability are drugs called beta-agonists which are asthma drugs. They work as non-steroidal growth stimulants for improved body mass gain and feed conversion in feedlot cattle.
42 days after feeding these drugs the animal dies. Hence they are slaughtered on day 40 and the feeding of these drugs stops on day 35. Apparently the withdrawal period is 5 days but when has a pharmaceutical company been honest about withdrawal periods? About as many times as they have been honest about the side effects of drugs.
If a cow is mistakenly given some of this drug she will never be able to reproduce again.
So not only are you getting an overload of Omega 6 (which has been repeatedly linked to heart disease) in your beef, you could also be ingesting free asthma drugs. Here is more on the effects of these drugs such as hooves falling off as well as the US beef industry discussing this matter.
Last year the world’s biggest meat company, Tyson and another of the biggest, Cargill, banned the use of these drugs in their beef. Of the big feedlots in this country, it is my understanding that only Chalmar don’t use these beta-agonists. The South African government allows the use of these drugs.
Not only do we not feed asthma drugs to our cattle, they have never seen a grain in their life and they sequester carbon (reverse global warming). Click on BUY MEAT if you want to.
Thanks
Angus