It´s often said that Australia and NZ have the world´s most stringent rules when it comes to animal welfare and that is the reason many manufacturers use glands and organs from AUS and NZ cows in their supplements (adrenal, thyroid etc).
However, the Guardian states in an article today (about the UK trade deal with Australia):
"Australian farmers are allowed to use hormones to make cattle grow bigger, and as a result their meat is subject to an import ban by the EU".
Does this mean that adrenal cortex or glandulars, as well as other supplements containing glands/organs, from AUS could contain undeclared growth hormones?
If the manufacturer doesn't claim that no hormones are used in the animals they get their supplies from, I don't see how we could reasonably assume they are not injected with growth promoting hormone(s).
Adrenal glandulars tend to be bovine and those I have seen use New Zealand cows and they don't add growth promoters there. I can't remember seeing any stating they use Australian cows.
It would seem that only Allergy research group uses raw material from Australia. I thought Ancestral did as well but they use exclusively raw material from NZ.
Our natural glandular material is derived from government-inspected, range-fed animals, raised in New Zealand and Australia, whose animal husbandry regulations are among the strictest in the world.
and for their Adrenal Cortex they use cattle from Argentina
This natural glandular material is derived from cattle born and raised in Argentina
I have contacted Allergy Research to confirm whether or not growth hormone is used in the Australian cattle for their Adrenal Glandular supplement and in the Argentinian cattle used for the Adrenal Cortex. I'll let you know if they respond.
I've had a reply from Allergy Research who have confirmed the following:
Our Adrenal Natural Glandular is sourced from bovine animals raised only in New Zealand. You can learn more about husbandry regulations as they relate to growth hormone use directly from the New Zealand government here:
Our Adrenal Cortex Natural Glandular is sourced from a supplier in Argentina. The product is free of additives, hormones which would include growth hormones, solvents, residues, pesticides, and antibiotics.
I must say I'm pleased to hear it as Allergy Research is the brand I currently use.
The NZ welfare standards are way different to Aussie ones... and have been for a very long time . Where did you read that Aussie ones were high ?.. i've always been under the opposite impression. But yes, the NZ cattle if i remember correctly are a BSE (or was it TB ? ) free herd, and i don't think NZ allow growth hormones/unnecessary antibiotics.
This is from the website of Allergy research group that manufactures thyroid and adrenal glandulars formlated by an MD: "contains thyroid tissue from cattle from Australia and New Zealand because these countries have the most stringent regulations for livestock worldwide".
"....these countries have the most stringent regulations for livestock worldwide".Unless they are more specific somewhere else in the literature about 'which regulations ? ' , this sentence could mean 'anything'
It could just mean 'they have regulations to make sure that all the 6ft by 2ft concrete crates they keep them in for their whole life, are cleaner than anywhere else in the world'..... sorry .. being a bit flippant , but hopefully you get my point.
Good question PurpleCar71. I also wondered but more about eating beef having read recently in the 'i' that Australian cattle are treated with hormones. It's the reason I've always tried to stick to porcine NDT.
That´s an interesting thought! Cows seem more common than pigs in most supplements of animal origin...however, when it comes to thyroid supplements, you most likely need to take them for life. I would not like to be getting unspecified amounts of growth hormone along with thyroid...
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Esp when you start Mooing and cueing up outside the Shed to be milked and leaving country pancakes all over the Lawn!
It appears that it depends on who the farmer is supplying. If it is for the home market or Europe, they do not use hormones, but if selling to the USA, they can and do. So it would be pot luck if your batch contained any nasties!
There is also the risk with bovine NDT of the "mad cow" stuff, a very small risk. I have a T shirt with "the only mad cow on this farm is me".
As far as I know, there has not been a single reported case of BSE in N Z or Argentina which is probably why most suppliers use raw material from these countries. Not sure about Australia and BSE...
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