Born in the USA, 1 May 1999
They're big, lean and cheap, so why does Europe hate them so much?
BE THANKFUL the Kosovo war has nothing to do with food. If it did, Brussels and Washington would fall out immediately.
So far this year, they have managed to clash over bananas and the segregation and labelling of GM foods. And now daggers are being drawn over hormones in beef (see p 15). Like many such battles, the background sounds simple enough, but all is definitely not what it seems.
American beef producers have been merrily feeding steroid hormones to their cattle since the 1970s. When Europe banned the practice a decade ago it also closed the door to imports of hormone treated beef. The World Trade Organization has now called time on the ban, which the US, with one eye on the export ambitions of its GM food industry, is keen to overturn in the name of free trade. So Europe is upping the ante by attempting to do to American prime cuts what environmental groups have done to GM crops--creating the impression they're unsafe to eat.
Are they? The scientific evidence to date suggests not. In 1995, the UN concluded that none of the growth hormones routinely used by American cattle farmers posed a health risk to consumers when used responsibly. In any case, three of the hormones, including testosterone and progesterone, are present in ordinary beef and at levels not hugely different from those in most hormone-fed cattle. So if you're going to argue that high-tech steaks from Wyoming can boost cancer rates, be prepared to admit that, to some extent, so can beef from Scotland.
Given this "relative risk" catch, why is Brussels so keen to dig up evidence of harm? Partly because it doesn't trust cattle farmers to use the hormones sensibly--and, after BSE, why should it? But the main reason is economic.
If Brussels gave the green light to all those cheap Wyoming steaks, Europe's farmers would struggle to compete and perhaps demand the hormones for their cattle. The result would be a beef glut, with many small producers going to the wall. This, alas, is not an argument you can make when you've signed up to a free trade agreement. Solution? Bring on the scientists and tell them to play the safety card for all it's worth.
Europe's war on hormones in beef may be just, but there's something phoney about how it's being waged.
From New Scientist, 1 May 1999 |
