Taking A Stand

Taking A Stand

Taking A Stand. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

Growing up in the late 50‘s and early 60‘s we didn’t really think an awful lot about the food we ate. Mom would fix it and we would eat it. Today’s world is a far cry from 50 years ago. When it comes to issues of science, nutrition and food production - it seems that myths and misinformation are more common than ever. At the recent Food Dialogues event - hosted in New York City by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance - some of the toughest issues in farming and food production were discussed by a wide range of experts with very different viewpoints. During a panel discussion on antibiotics in food animal production - a food and nutrition blogger raised one of the most common food-related myths.

BLOGGER: There is a common myth that I hear as a registered dietician and I would love somebody, one of you, what I think probably needs to be debunked is that the antibiotics in the livestock are affecting our children and that it is promoting early puberty.

MODERATOR: Ok, let’s start with Keith on that.

AYOOB: Ok. Yeah, that...no. The only accurate answer to that is no.

Keith is Dr. Keith Ayoob an associate professor of pediatric nutrition at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Director of the College’s children’s nutrition clinic. Dr. Ayoob says the myths regarding early puberty have been around for quite some time.

AYOOB: So that question crops up and hormones doing the same thing, it’s promoting early puberty. At least in terms of things like RBST in milk and things like that that particular one is the one that crops up most often I will tell you flat out, that’s a bovine hormone. It does not work on people. It is like absolutely no risk whatsoever to your kids.

So how do medical professionals account for increased incidences of early puberty? Ayoob says the answer is strikingly simple.

AYOOB: The most likely cause of early puberty in children is obesity and this has been known for a long time. When kids get very over weight, very obese they are much more likely to enter early puberty so to me we need to deal with the obesity issue and leave milk alone.

You can watch videos from the Food Dialogues discussion and join in the conversation by visiting FoodDialogues dot com (www.fooddialogues.com).

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network. 

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