If you want to see quiet little me get amped up, just start talking about all those horrible hormones and steroids that are fed to turkeys and chickens to make them grow so big and fat that they can’t stand up, much less walk around.
That must be why turkeys have such big breasts right? I mean, their poor little legs can’t even support their body weight.
People, people, people. Let’s do a little myth-busting here.
This whole business of growth hormones and steroids is a myth. Seriously. And no matter what you read in any of the popular magazines, like Real Simple or Southern Living or Better Homes and Gardens, it’s simply not true. In fact, there are no growth hormones or steroids approved for use in any poultry in the U.S. – it’s illegal. And that goes for both traditional and organic poultry farming.
Here’s what the National Turkey Federation has to say about it: ” FDA bans the use of such hormones. Genetic improvements, better feed formulation and modern management practices are responsible for the increase in turkey size.”
What does that mean? In a nutshell, it means that along with genetic improvements in the birds themselves, farmers have gotten better at knowing exactly what to feed their turkeys and chickens to make them flourish and be healthy.
A few weeks ago, I was having an everyday kind of conversation about Thanksgiving and turkeys with someone at my son’s school. She knows I work for the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association so she enjoys teasing me about “talking turkey” on a regular basis. On this particular day, she casually mentioned “Well, all those turkeys are fed terrible things to make them grow.”
Whoa! What was that? I’m sure she proceeded to watch my eyes get bigger and my mouth drop open, as I quickly processed what she had said.
I smiled and then quickly explained that turkeys aren’t fed horrible, unnatural things. Instead, they munch quite happily on a steady diet of corn and soybean meal with some vitamins and minerals mixed in – and they have access to both food and water whenever they need it. The woman was surprised to hear this, but she was also pleased, I could tell, to receive accurate information. And she promised she was going to let her friends know this, as well.
“If this isn’t true, why do we read this everywhere?” she asked me. Good question. I wish I had an answer. As far as I can tell, fact checking seems to be a lost art in this fast-paced new media world. And perhaps those of us in the poultry industry didn’t try to bust this myth soon enough. It’s hard to say.
But regardless, you can be sure that any of the talking points I put together for my organization contain this: enough with the growth hormones and steroids already. Well, okay, it’s stated much more PR-savvy than that in my work materials, but between you and me, this is what it boils down to. Enough with the growth hormones and steroids already.
I love when I can bust a myth once in a while.
16 Comments on Stop with the Growth Hormones and Steroids Already (Or How I Bust a Myth)
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Way to go Lara 🙂 Love your ACCURATE information! This is my biggest pet peeve, especially since we raise turkeys, that people don’t take the time to do their research before believing everything the media says! Well said. Poultry producers thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Thanks, Lynn – it drives me crazy too! Hopefully my little post can help – one person at a time! 🙂
I know that everything I read is not true. Before I believe anything I check who wrote the statements. People, rich people, can pay off any thing to make their “facts” true. Simplest answer to the truth is to just label everything. GMO, organic! Or not when they are not. If there is nothing wrong with how theses animals are raised, plants are grown, then why not label them?
Had someone look at my turkeys once and say mine must be all natural and not get the hormones others do. Mine *are* all natural – but I pondered why the comment. Because the others were bigger. Ummm…mine are *Midget White* – vs a big bronze – yea they’re smaller! *sigh* Just because a Great Dane is bigger than a Greyhound doesn’t mean it’s on hormones. :-/ Little pieces.
Not all articles or even news we read are true so therefore before believing such, we must do our own research if they are authentic or just a myth. Usually in the supermarket how are sure that these poultry are raised naturally by farmers,though it is labeled as organic. Thus, the risks is still ours.growth hormone
It’s true that we must all do our part to make sure we are reading and sharing accurate information. Sadly, that doesn’t happen enough in our world of social media and the Internet. I can tell you that, without a doubt, poultry is not injected with any type of growth hormone or steroid in the U.S. And this includes poultry raised conventionally or organically – there are no such products approved for this use in the marketplace.
I’m sorry but how do you know this to be a fact. Because you said so ? I have watched video evidence from Tyson farmers and prudue farmers showing said chickens not being able to walk around due to their off body being off structure. You are telling us not to believe everything we read except what ? What you say ? Organic is clearly the way to go !
Hi Angie, Thanks for reading my blog post and for asking these good questions. I can only tell you that it is absolutely fact that hormones and steroids aren’t pumped into poultry. It’s illegal in the U.S. This is the case for turkeys, chickens and laying hens, whether raised conventionally or organically. It’s not just me saying this – it is a fact. Unfortunately companies like Perdue and Tyson and many others often use this as a marketing ploy – stating on their products or in a TV commercial that their products are hormone-free, which in fact, all poultry in the U.S. is hormone-free.
I can tell you, after working with poultry farmers in Minnesota for 18 years, that I have been in many poultry barns and seen many chickens and turkeys up close and personal and they can walk and lead healthy lives.
I believe we need all kinds of production methods – organic, included – to give consumers the choices they want and expect. I have nothing at all against organic poultry production and know many amazing organic poultry farmers. But I also know many good conventional poultry farmers who care for their birds just as well as organic farmers.
That’s my opinion, based on my years of experience; however, it is absolutely your right to read and disseminate the information and form your own opinions.
Have you seen the documentary ” What the Health in 2017.”
Hi Ron,
I have not – sounds like I should check it out!
Lara
I agree with you that hormones and steroids aren’t used in poultry. However the problem with this misconception stems from product labels themselves.
This weekend at Costco I saw packets of Tyson chicken advertising “no hormones” AND “no steroids”, without mentioning that those treatments aren’t legal.
The one thing that you and Tyson don’t mention is the widespread use of antibiotics for growth promotion in chicken and turkey. FDA just announced restrictions but it is unclear whether they will have the desired effect.
Sonya, Thank for the comments! I completely agree that there can be a huge misconception out there about hormones and steroids – and food companies are as guilty as anyone. It drives me crazy, actually! The whole thing is used a marketing ploy so it really gives consumers the wrong idea.
As for antibiotics, I really think there is a perception that antibiotics are used blatantly and that’s simply not true if you get to the farm level and talk to poultry farmers. Everything is monitored closely by veterinarians and poultry farmers do not overuse these products. (Plus, as a side note, most antibiotics used in poultry are not the same antibiotics used for humans.) I agree with you that this is an issue that does need to be monitored closely and I think it will be over the next few years – but there are a lot of misconceptions out there about antibiotic use as well.