Ractopamine is a drug given to pigs and cattle that tricks their bodies into building more muscle and less fat, so they grow faster and need less food to gain weight.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (2)
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Effect of ractopamine hydrochloride (Optaflexx) dose and duration on growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing steers.
The study gave cows a feed additive called ractopamine and found they grew more muscle and less fat while eating less food per pound gained — exactly what the claim says it does.
Effects of ractopamine on performance and composition of pigs phenotypically sorted into fat and lean groups.
The study found that giving pigs ractopamine made them grow more muscle and less fat while eating less food, which is exactly what the claim says it does.
Contradicting (0)
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Gold Standard Evidence Needed
According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.