The Great Hormone Hoax: Beef, Blame, and the Science They Skip

Is your steak secretly disrupting your hormones? Spoiler alert: probably not. In this episode, we cut through the fearmongering and get real about hormones in beef, milk, and the food supply. You’ll learn what’s naturally occurring, what’s added (and why), and how tiny the actual exposure is—especially compared to the real disruptors we’re exposed to every single day.

We’ll cover:

• What hormone implants actually do in cattle and how they’re regulated

• How phytoestrogens in soy and flax compare to estrogen in beef

• The truth about rBST in dairy cows.

• Why higher childhood BMI, not beef, is more strongly linked to early puberty.

• How marketers have capitalized on fear to sell “hormone-free” labels that don’t mean what you think.

This episode isn’t just about meat—it’s about reclaiming the facts, trusting your food, and not falling for marketing masquerading as science.

Want further reading material?

• Phytoestrogens and their effects (PubMed)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25160742/
• Data on obesity and puberty timing in children (PubMed)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23744298/
• Oklahoma State studies on hormonal additives and safetyhttps://openresearch.okstate.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/cfe13978-87b2-4f36-8816-f7ae5ec5d7f4/content
• Iowa Beef Center report on cattle implantation practiceshttps://www.iowabeefcenter.org/information/IBC48.pdf
• AABP guidelines on implant selection in beef cattlehttps://www.aabp.org/committees/resources/welfare/ImplantSelUse-DDG-2008.pdf
• CattleSite overview of beef implant programshttps://www.thecattlesite.com/articles/744/beef-cattle-implants/
• Molecular-level insights on endocrine disruptors (MDPI)https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/15/12195
• NIEHS resource center on hormone-disrupting agents (NIEHS)https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine
• EPA on pesticides
• https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-science-and-assessing-pesticide-risks/human-health-issues-related-pesticides
• EU precautionary principle:
• https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/precautionary-principle.html
• FDA on Hormone Implants:
• https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/product-safety-information/steroid-hormone-implants-used-growth-food-producing-animals

Next week, we cover what everyone has been waiting for... food labels! Tune in to learn more.