Word: feedlots
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...range from the Rainforest Action Network, which blames cattle for "killing the Amazon," % to the Fund for Animals, which criticizes the use of poisons and traps to control coyotes that prey on calves. The International Rivers Network blames cattle for wasting scarce water resources, while Food First denounces the feedlot system for wasting grain that could otherwise be used for human consumption...
...keeping with the Lone Star State's reputation for independence, a Texan aims to strike a separate peace in the beef war between the U.S. and the European Community. Because most American feedlot operators hasten cattle growth with hormones, the E.C. has banned more than $100 million of U.S. meat imports. Washington has retaliated by slapping 100% tariffs on $100 million of annual European food imports. But last week Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower, declaring it was time "to cut the bureaucratic crap," proposed a way to provide hormone-free exports to Europe...
Besides barring demonstrably dangerous drugs, the E.C. is preventing importation of many benign compounds that play a significant role in the U.S. cattle industry. For nearly 30 years, American feedlot operators have promoted weight gain in young steers and heifers by giving them implants of natural and synthetic animal hormones, including testosterone and progesterone...
Many American beef growers maintain that European meat is more dangerous than the U.S. product. While conceding that some American feedlot operators have been cited for improperly administering approved hormones, the U.S. growers point out that the E.C. ban has fostered a thriving black market among European cattlemen in older, more dangerous compounds like DES. Some growers inject their herds with illicit drugs to cut costs. Last week a Belgian consumer magazine reported a survey of 500 butcher shops in which 25% of the hamburger samples tested contained DES and other illegal chemicals...
...temporary increase in supplies, but ranchers say that the short-term impact is proving to be severe. Nor are they comforted to know that dairy cattle produce low-quality meat, which cannot compare with tastier ranch beef. "Any extra tonnage is bad," says Paul Hitch, owner of a major feedlot in Guymon, Okla. "If a million cut-rate Chevies come on the market, even Cadillac is going to lose some sales...