Tuesday, March 17, 2009 by: Barbara Minton, Natural Health Editor
(NaturalNews) Up until recently, U.S. pork producers were worried about tightening profit margins across their industry. Now many of them are smiling, and it's all because of Paylean, a drug that is netting them more cash for each hog they sell. Consumers of pork products may not be too happy though, since most of the pork products they buy at conventional grocery stores and restaurants are chocked full of Paylean, a chemical that has been shown to have the potential for causing cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Paylean is a conventional hog farmer's dream product
Paylean is a product of Elanco technology, a company owned by Eli Lilly. It was approved in 1999 for use on finishing swine, pigs that are being fed for market. Paylean directs nutrients away from the production of fat deposition toward the production of lean meat. According to Elanco's website, years of university and private research have shown that Paylean produces an increased rate of weight gain, improved efficiency, and increased carcass leanness in hogs ready for market.
Conventional hog producers love Paylean because it improves feed efficiency by 13 percent, and increases average daily gain in hogs by 10 percent. It reduces average daily feed intake by 6 percent, and increases lean gain by 25 to 37 percent according to research results. Use of Paylean can net a pork producer an additional $5 to10 per hog. A producer who runs a fairly large operation can increase profits by $320,000 a year or more by using Paylean.
No Paylean clearance period is required prior to slaughter
Pigs can be dining on Paylean laced feed right up until the time they enter the slaughtering process. There is no clearance period required. Other drugs used by producers require a clearance time of two weeks before the animal can be turned into food for the dinner table. Not so with Paylean, even though industry research has shown that it takes a full seven days for 97% of Paylean to be excreted following a one-time typical dose in pigs. This means that whether you are eating a hot dog at the ball park or your Christmas ham, you are consuming Paylean.
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