Education Blog : Beef Additive Alert, (tm) a New USA Consumer Action Campaign Demands Anti-Cheating, Anti-Doping Show Ring Cattle Ban in 4-H

Beef Additive Alert™, a new national consumer action campaign, calls for an immediate ban of aggressive performance-enhancing cattle drugs in the USDA-NIFA’s national 4-H program and the U.S. Education Department-led ‘Future Farmers of America’ organization. Zilpaterol and Ractopamine are the controversial FDA-approved muscle-bulking cattle drugs known as beta agonists which children are allowed to use in the competitive show ring.

"In this day and age of athlete doping scandals, we are greatly alarmed at the lesson this teaches our nation’s youth, especially since the 4-H motto is to "Make the Best Better AND "Learn By Doing". Basically, we are telling kids that it IS acceptable to cheat to win. We disagree!" said Susan Stern, Beef Additive Alert™ spokeswoman.

Billed as "The Competitive Advantage You can’t Win Without," and "Essential Show Feeds", Zilpaterol cattle feed additives are marketed to show ring youngsters nationwide. "I am concerned that children will feed too much beta agonists to steers and cause animal welfare problems. I also think that marketing beta agonists to kids and encouraging them to bulk up their animal with a drug teaches poor values," said renowned USA Agricultural Scientist Temple Grandin, who spoke exclusively with Beef Additive Alert™.

FFA and 4-H livestock programs strive to create an atmosphere encouraging good character, accountability and ethical decision making. "It is not right for some children to feed their show cattle muscle-bulking drugs, when others are not cheating. This creates an un-level playing field," remarks Arizona cattleman Harvey Dietrich, who co-founded Beef Additive Alert™ with Nebraska rancher Gerald Timmerman.

Beef Additive Alert™ demands the USDA & U.S. Education Department implement an across-the-board ban of FDA-approved animal beta agonists in the national youth development programs.