Giving steers a special feed additive called ractopamine for 28 days helps them grow leaner meat faster without making them heavier overall—basically, they turn their food into muscle more efficiently, like a better fuel economy in a car.

19

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

19

Community contributions welcome

19

Effect of ractopamine hydrochloride (Optaflexx) dose and duration on growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing steers.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Animal

2016 Dec

The study gave steers 200 mg of ractopamine daily for 28 days and found they grew just as heavy but ate less feed, meaning they used their food better — exactly what the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

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.

Source Study

Effect of ractopamine hydrochloride (Optaflexx) dose and duration on growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing steers.

Score: 19

DOI: 10.2527/jas.2016-0807

Similar Assertions

When farmers give steers (male cattle) more of a special feed additive called ractopamine, the cows eat less food—but they grow faster and turn the food they do eat into muscle more efficiently.

19

0

87%

Giving steers the same growth-promoting feed additive for two extra weeks—42 days instead of 28—doesn’t make them grow faster or change their meat quality in any meaningful way.

19

0

86%

Giving steers a special feed additive called ractopamine makes them grow more lean muscle and less fatty marbling, so their meat becomes leaner.

19

0

77%

When pigs are fed a special additive called ractopamine, they eat about 10–15% less food over a month, but they still grow just as well—and they use the food they do eat more efficiently, like a smarter eater.

12

0

70%