A few days ago, McClatchy published a detailed piece on how the American pork industry — led by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) — now is demanding that European authorities allow pork from pigs fed ractopamine into their market. The European Food Safety Authority investigated ractopamine in 2009, concluding there were not enough data to show that it is safe for human consumption at any level. But the NPPC is now urging U.S. trade negotiators to override that determination in current trade talks with the European Union. The NPPC's attitude appears to be that that the pork industry's profits should trump any concerns about food safety or animal welfare from regulators, scientists or consumers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ractopamine for use on pigs after just one human health study — an evaluation of six young, healthy men, one of whom dropped out because his heart began racing and pounding abnormally.
The FDA has linked ractopamine to nearly a quarter-million reported adverse events in pigs (more than half of those pigs were sickened or killed) — more than any other animal drug. These pigs became lame or unable to stand, started trembling, or suffered a host of other ailments.
作者是老美自家人，也是反對加藥豬。
