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Chickens fed hormones or steroids
n Long-standing widely held myth finally busted and truth revealed
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THE Australian Chicken Meat Federation is calling for one of the most long- standing and widely held myths about chicken to be busted once and for all.
important factors of mod- ern breeding programs, so are traits such as ro- bustness, physical fitness, reproductive fitness and resistance to disease and metabolic conditions.
mone myth was born,” Dr Kite said.
meats instead of red meat compared to a year ago
the chicken meat consumed in Australia was grown in Australia
The fact is that hormones and steroids are not fed to Australian chickens!
Of modern meat chicken breeds, University of Syd- ney senior lecturer in poul- try nutrition Dr Sonia Liu said, “The production ef- ficiency and improved sus- tainability of today’s meat chickens are a combined effort from genetic selec- tion breeding programs, better health and farm management practices, and advanced nutrition and feed formulation.”
• Chicken is a versatile and inexpensive source of dietary protein
New research has re- vealed that nearly six in 10 Australians have the wrong end of the chicken drum- stick, incorrectly believ- ing the myth that chickens raised to produce meat in Australia are given hor- mones or steroids.
“With this new research finding around 64 percent of Australians sourced this misinformation from media or online, it’s now time for every Australian to get their facts straight and understandhowtheirfa- vourite meat is responsibly raised and brought to the table,” Dr Kite said.
• Interestingly, those who think that chickens in Aus- tralia are given hormones or steroids are just as likely, as those who believe other- wise, to be eating or trying to eat more chicken instead of red meat.
• Cooked chicken meat is an excellent source of pro- tein and source of essential nutrients including vita- mins B6, B12 and niacin, and minerals magnesium, selenium and zinc
Only13percentofsurvey respondents were correct in their understanding that meat chickens in Australia are not given hormones or steroids.
Fivefactsaboutchicken meat:
• Cooked chicken deliv- ers more protein in fewer kilojoules than cooked legumes, pulses, nuts and seeds.
With this fact in mind, the ACMF wants to reas- sure Aussies that they can continue to eat their favour- ite meat without worrying about the addition of hor- mones or steroids.
To explain how the long- standing myth might have come about, Dr Kite said, “In the 1950s, a synthetic form of the female sex hor- mone oestrogen started to be used commercially in some parts of the world to increase the growth rate of cattle and to fatten the young male chickens.”
• Nearly six in ten, or 58 percent of Australians, be- lieve that chickens raised to produce meat in Australia are given hormones or ster- oids, with 50 percent of Australians believing that they are given hormones, while one in three, or 32 percent, believe that they are given steroids
Executive director of the ACMF Dr Vivien Kite said, “It’s time for Australians to get their facts straight about chicken meat production.”
“This was at a time when there were no specially bred strains of meat chick- ens and people raised the relatively lean males of breeds, used to produce eggs, for the purpose of meat production.
• Only one in eight, or 13 percent of Australians, be- lieve that chickens raised to produce meat in Australia are given neither hormones nor steroids and three in ten, or 29 percent, don’t know whether this is the case
“Their size and robust growth occurs naturally due to selective breeding, animal husbandry and op- timal nutrition.”
“As strains of chickens bred specifically for meat production started to be developed, this practice became irrelevant, and the use of such products was discontinued in the 1960s in Australia.
• Over four in ten, or 42 percent, said that the reason they think chickens raised to produce meat in Aus- tralia are given hormones or steroids is because they heard or read about it on television, radio, newspa- pers and such
“Importantly, they are not approved for use in poultry meat production in Aus- tralia, which means that it is illegal to use them.”
The YouGov research, undertaken in September 2022, revealed the follow- ing:
Despite the facts, the myths around the use of hormones and steroids have lived on over the decades, and the recent research commissioned by the AC- MF sought to understand how these myths have been perpetuated.
• Australian men at 42 percent are more likely than their female counter- parts at 35 percent to be eating or trying to eat more chicken and other white meats instead of red meat, compared to a year ago
• Chicken has the lowest environmental footprint of all meats
The research also in- dicated that more than a quarter of Australians are making a move away from red meat consumption to chicken meat for reasons such as health, budget and the environment.
“We urge Australians to visit our website and learn the correct facts for them- selves.”
Dr Kite said, “The in- dustry hasn’t and doesn’t need hormones or steroids to achieve these improve- ments.”
• More than 99 percent of
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2022
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FEB 6-8 – Australian Poultry Science Symposium, Sydney Australia, www.apss2023.com.au
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“Australian chickens are not given hormones or ster- oids in any way.
Modern meat chickens have been selectively bred to grow well and put on a lot more muscle – that is, meat – more effectively than earlier chicken breeds.
“Quite a few years later, media started speculating that the observed early sex- ual development in girls in Puerto Rico may be linked to the feeding of hormones to cattle and chickens, and despite the fact that sub- sequent investigation of the Puerto Rican incident discounted this theory, per- haps that’s where the hor-
This breeding process has also enabled today’s chickens to convert their feed into meat more ef- ficiently, reaching the de- sired market weight and quality more quickly than the breeds of chickens from which they originated.
• Four in ten, or 39 per- cent, said that they read about it online or on the internet, while one in three, or 33 percent, found out from talking to friends and family
While meat yield and the efficiency with which birds convert feed to meat are
• Nearly four in ten, or 38 percent of Australians, are eating or trying to eat more chicken or other white
The ACMF wants to reassure Aussies that they can continue to eat their favourite meat without worrying about the addition of hormones or steroids.
Ideas Exchange indicates poultry industry future
Question time at Ideas Exchange 2022.
* from P1
ception of every project certainly ensures they stay on track and have relevance in the industry.
the biggest problem our industry faced, however this year, sustainability was the top response.
Lastly, the conference finished with our ‘brains trust’ session – a ques- tion and answer session where all participants were able to answer anonymously a set of pertinent questions for our industry.
Some great conversa- tions and ideas occurred at this year’s conference, and I look forward to welcoming you to some new events as a result of these productive interac- tions.
We have been running this session for a few years now and it was very interesting to see how the responses have both changed and re- mained the same over this time.
The first will be a webinar with industry leaders and researchers to discuss some of the current issues facing the industry.
In 2019, getting people to work in the poultry industry was voted as
For more information, contact poultryhub@ une.edu.au or contact us if you have another great idea for an event, or simply want to have a chicken chat!
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