Human Cows

So if you suffer from asthma at one time or another, you might have taken a beta agonist to help control it. Beta agonists are chemicals that trigger the beta receptors in your body which in turn increase heart rate, relaxes lung muscles and increases muscle contractions. This acts like the natural chemicals in your body of epinephrine and nor epinephrine. These are well tested drugs and used basically for humans. One of the side effects is weight gain.

Zilpaterol

Zilmax (Zilpaterol) is a beta agonist with a special treatment. It is not used on humans but rather it is used on cows. Yes, the animals that go moo. At first I was in shock since I didn’t know that cows had asthma. But after doing some research, the drug is given to cows because of its side effect: weight gain. Zilmax is used to increase the size of cattle and the efficiency of feeding them in the final three to six weeks prior to slaughter. It promotes weight gain by stimulating the growth of lean muscle instead of fat. They have been providing this drug in their feed for years.

Side Effects

Along the way something odd happened. The cows have been showing signs of weird behavior (side effects). Some cows walked stiffly, while others had trouble moving or simply lay down, their tongues hanging from their mouths. A few cows even sat down in strange positions, looking more like dogs than cows. Now, some would wounder if it was truly a side effect of Zilmax. But the problem arose when Merck decided to stop selling Zilmax until some more studies could be performed. Even some slaughterhouses stopped accepting cattle that used Zilmax.  In addition, did you know that Russia, China and Europe banned the use of beta agonists on cattle.

Are Cows Sick?

I remember South Korea banning imports of beef from the US and producers getting mad and asking for action against South Korea. Do they know something we don’t? Adding Zilmax to cattle adds about 25 pounds of weight to a cow. So 25 pounds at 5.99 a pound (shoprite) equals $149.75 in extra cash per cow. That is alot of money per cow considering that millions are slaughtered each year. Take into consideration that every time you eat steak, you are being treated for asthma. It is no wonder that when I fry a steak, it shrinks in the skillet. It must be all the chemicals being released out under the heat.

You may wonder why I bring this up. Well, our environment (air, water, food, etc) affect our health and we go to the doctors for treatment when issues arise.  What if someone is allergic to a beta agonist? They can have a negative reaction with steak and assume a natural reaction to red meat. When in fact, it is the additives that can harm humans. So let’s go one step further, chances are they do this to chickens, turkeys, hogs (confirmed) and other animals. So our bodies have a huge amount of drugs being bombarded into our system without us being given a choice. We assume we get sick from bacteria or virus but never suspect the steak sandwich we had for lunch.

Do you feel that our food supply chain is healthy and serving our best interests?