Let's start this out by saying that Richard Young of the Soil Association, which opposes the use of hormones in farming, is not saying that British consumers are eating dangerous meat -- but he is calling for an updated and reactivated testing program that will ensure imported beef does not contain hormones linked to increased cancer risks. While the European Union has banned the use of growth or sex hormones in cattle for 20 years, cattle from many countries outside the EU, including the US and Canada, are given both naturally occurring and synthetic hormones to boost the quantity and quality of beef produced for human consumption.

The safety of hormone-treated beef that can lead to sexual abnormalities and raise the risk of hormone-driven cancers, is disputed by some in the scientific community -- and according to the Soil Association, there might be an additional business and political element at work when it states that, "The EU imposed a ban on the importation of hormone-treated beef, but under pressure from the US and Canada the World Trade Organization ruled that the ban was not based on sound science and therefore an illegal barrier to trade. As a result the EU is forced to pay more than 120 million US dollars a year in compensation."

To read detailed background information on the issue of hormone-treated beef and the concern over imported beef not being tested for growth or sex hormones, go here. We'll say it again. Young is not saying that the beef presently sold is unsafe, only that the Soil Association is calling for a testing program to ensure the safety of imported beef sold and consumed.

The Soil Association is the UK's leading campaigning and certification organization for organic food and farming.