FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DES-exposed Consumers Outraged to
Find Illegal DES in American Beef

We are dismayed but not surprised to learn that DES (diethylstilbestrol) has been found in beef exported from the U.S. to Switzerland. In spite of the years of horrors wrought via this carcinogenic substance, DES apparently remains a popular toxic tool for some cattle farmers.

“This is just incredible,” said Pat Cody, who took DES while pregnant with her daughter Martha. “To think that this drug which has harmed my daughter and so many others could now be hurting my grandchildren when they eat a hamburger.”

DES use in humans persisted far beyond the dictates of both medical science and common sense. Even though a reliable, well-done study in 1953 showed that DES was ineffective for its prescribed purpose, i.e. preventing miscarriages, pharmaceutical companies continued to make it and doctors prescribed it until 1971. Its use in cattle was finally banned in 1980 but this has not deterred some unscrupulous cattle producers from once again exposing the public to this toxic substance. Ironically, it took a foreign country the more cautious Swiss to uncover this use in the United States.

We call on the FDA and the USDA to move swiftly to not only sanction the offenders but to also enact more stringent controls to protect the public. We are alarmed that consumers are only learning about this now, when the tainted beef was discovered in July, 1999 (ironically, the same time that the National Institutes of Health convened a DES Research Conference to discuss the health effects caused by exposure to DES). We wonder if McDonald’s, Burger King, and other major burger outlets are taking steps to protect their customers from DES.

Given the poor state of beef inspection in this country, there is no way of knowing the extent of exposure to DES for American and international consumers, particularly since the USDA has not tested beef for DES since 1991. However, the fact that the source of the DES-contaminated beef was the fourth-largest meatpacker in the U.S. is cause for great concern. Clearly, the USDA must immediately resume and expand testing for DES, and do whatever is necessary to rid our food supply of this deadly carcinogen.

For more information about DES, the public can contact DES Action toll-free at 1-800-DES-9288 or visit our website at www.desaction.org.

DES Action USA
158 S. Stanwood Rd. | Columbus, OH 43209
Ph: 1-800-DES-9288 | desaction@columbus.rr.com