Posted on 03/27/2007 8:55:28 PM PDT by blam
Eating beef could threaten sons' fertility
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
Last Updated: 1:37am BST 28/03/2007
The sons of women who regularly ate beef during pregnancy are more likely to have low sperm counts, a report claims today.
The American researchers suggest the growth promoters used in cattle may be responsible. It has been known for more than 10 years that sperm counts had been falling in the western world, with scientists at Copenhagen University pointing to exposure to pesticides and industrial chemicals.
The principle suspects included "gender-bender" chemicals that act like human sex hormones.
The latest study - of men in the United States born between 1949 and 1983 - found that those whose mothers ate more than seven beef meals a week had a sperm concentration more than 24 per cent lower than in men whose mothers ate less beef.
Many sons of high beef consumers had a count that would be classified as sub-fertile by World Health Organization standards.
One British expert called the findings "alarming." Another said: "Don't mess with growth promoters is the obvious takehome message."
But others were sceptical about findings based on asking women how often they ate beef decades ago.
Prof Shanna Swan, the lead author of the study published in the journal Human Reproduction, said: "These findings suggest that maternal beef consumption is associated with lower sperm concentration and possible sub-fertility, associations that may be related to the presence of anabolic steroids and other xenobiotics [foreign chemicals] in beef.
"Theoretically, the foetus and young children are particularly sensitive to exposure to sex steroids. Therefore, the consumption of residues of steroids in meat by pregnant women and young children is of particular concern."
So that's why we don't have kids! I've been eating burgers and shooting blanks all these years.
Not to mention the extra gas expelled by those beef-eating preggos.
This anti-bovine crusade is getting silly now!
LOL...is this a PR statement from PETA...
When the last fertile male dies out then maybe the frankenfood folks will finally say:
Sorry. Oh we didn't mean that. Our bad.
Not difficult to believe. People used to eat beef far more than they do today. But the question is, did cattle ranchers and feedlot operators use growth hormones twenty years ago to the same extent they do today? I thought that was a relatively recent innovation.
I have 4 boys. My mom must have been a vegiterian.
The irony is I was just reading about the Egyptian goddess of Fertility yesterday. She was symbolized as being a cow. BTW, I have five children and everyone in our family eats beef.
"It has been known for more than 10 years that sperm counts had been falling in the western world, with scientists at Copenhagen University pointing to exposure to pesticides and industrial chemicals. "
Pesticides and chemicals have been present in far greater amounts well prior to the last 10 years.
Ahh... the answer to India's over population...
And if you don't eat beef they will be gay.
You don't have to stop eating beef. Just stop eating commercial, hormone/soy saturated beef, and find a producer of untainted meat. The difference can be tasted.
So where are all the sperm donors for the abortions coming from.
I wonder if the fact that in some Western countries, boys are told again and again not to be 'boys' has something to do with this...
This is the biggest bunch of crap!
If this were true America would have a shrinking population.
The point of the article is that women that eat beef can have all the kids they want, however their kids will have lower sperm count. "Got any grandkids from your sons?" That would be the yardstick in this case.
But they didn't have professional sperm counters before then.
If you don't eat beef your sons will be gay AND professional sperm counters.
I have the sudden urge to go out back and fire up the BBQ.
This Reporter is an obvious product of a socialist stup-icationn.
Doesn't know that *women* are fertile or not, and apparently never heard of male *virility*ay all.
Just the way socialists wanjht our men to be...emasculted.
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