Antibiotics and growth promoters (hormones)

The use of antibiotics and growth hormones in livestock has been a controversial matter for many years. The use of antibiotics in livestock farming is essential to help prevent the widespread and devastating effects of diseases in herds. In some cases, antibiotics have been added to feed to promote growth. It has been shown that low residues of the drugs may build up in the fatty tissue, kidneys and liver of animals however these are not thought to pose any risk to human health.

The use of antibiotics in livestock has been suspected as one of the causes of the emergence of antibiotic-resistant species of bacteria, although the most common cause is poor drug management in the treatment of human health. This in turn results in human illnesses that cannot be treated by traditional antibiotics. In March 2002, the EU proposed that the use of antibiotics as growth-promoting agents should be phased out by 2006.

Hormones have been fed to cattle to boost their growth rate and to increase milk production in cows. The EU banned the use of growth hormones in livestock in 1988, however, the practice still continues in the US, Canada and in Australia. The topic remains controversial especially in terms of international trade of hormone-treated beef.