160 countries have banned a drug used to increase muscle mass in pigs, but the U.S. continues using it in livestock feed. Even China, a country hardly known for its food safety or animal rights concerns, refuses to buy pork products made with pigs given the drug.
Ractopamine is a growth hormone used to increase muscle mass in pigs, cattle and turkeys. The drug, which is used on up to 80 percent of pigs used for meat, causes a variety of physical and mental health problems in animals. These include high stress, lameness, hyperactive behavior and death. Research from the European Food Safety Authority shows that ractopamine causes rapid heart beats in humans, and the Sichuan Pork Trade Chamber of Commerce in China estimates that 1,700 people were poisoned from pork products containing the drug between 1998 and 2010.
The USDA needs to put human and animal health above business interests. Please sign the petition to urge the USDA to ban ractopamine in livestock!
160 countries have banned a drug used to increase muscle mass in pigs, but the U.S. continues using it in livestock feed. Even China, a country hardly known for its food safety or animal rights concerns, refuses to buy pork products made with pigs given the drug.
Ractopamine is a growth hormone used to increase muscle mass in pigs, cattle and turkeys. The drug, which is used on up to 80 percent of pigs used for meat, causes a variety of physical and mental health problems in animals. These include high stress, lameness, hyperactive behavior and death. Research from the European Food Safety Authority shows that ractopamine causes rapid heart beats in humans, and the Sichuan Pork Trade Chamber of Commerce in China estimates that 1,700 people were poisoned from pork products containing the drug between 1998 and 2010.
We believe that consumer and animal health should come before business interests. We respectfully urge you to ban ractopamine in livestock. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider our petition.
