Thai Cattle Farmers Protest Proposed Import of US Hormone-Treated Beef

[snoop1130]

Picture courtesy of Beefmaster Breeders United

 

Thai beef farmers are raising alarms over government plans to permit imports of US beef, potentially treated with growth hormones, as part of a trade deal seen as risking both local livelihoods and food safety. The Beef Cattle Association of Thailand, with support from over 60 allied groups, has conveyed its strong opposition by storming into the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

 

Concerns over health, safety, and economic impacts drive this resistance. Sitthiporn Boorananath, the association's vice president, voiced fears that US beef, flagged for containing potentially carcinogenic growth hormones, threatens Thailand's stringent safety standards. Hormone treatment in cattle is prohibited in Thailand, which leaves the local industry uneasy about the quality of incoming meat.

 

Economic repercussions are a significant concern. An influx of cheaper US beef could undermine about 1.4 million farming households raising over 9.6 million cattle, valued at 288 billion baht. Farmers already struggle under free trade agreements with countries like Australia and New Zealand, enduring price pressures from imported meats.

 

 

 

Sitthiporn criticised the government's lack of consideration for small-scale farmers, contrasting the administration’s previous focus on pork producers. As part of their strategy to counter the trade deficit, the government aims to use this policy as leverage for reducing US import taxes on Thai goods – a move met with staunch resistance from farmers like Sewiang Saengkhaw from Phatthalung, worried about rural economic impacts.

 

Internationally, farmers express concern over Thailand's reputation. Countries known for strict anti-hormone policies, such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and China, might rethink their imports of Thai beef if the market sees an influx of US products, potentially damaging trade relationships and diminishing the appeal of Thai beef globally.

 

The association plans to elevate the protest by petitioning finance and commerce ministers, seeking to reverse the decision proposed by the government. As the debate unfolds, the plea from Thai cattle farmers remains clear: reconsider the import proposal to safeguard local farming communities and maintain the country's esteemed food safety standards, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-04-18

 

 

[JoePai]

Hormones cannot be good for you, only have to look at Trump and all the beefburgers he eats  🤣

[SunnyinBangrak]

If Thailand ever imports US beef it will be the end of the Thai beef industry. Thailand, like Australia, produces tasteless beef with the tenderness of Doc Marten airware soles, probably bursting with growth hormones, antibiotics and steroids. Disgusting stuff. No doubts why Thai farmers are puckering up at the thought of competition and being forced to up their game.

 

 

[Will B Good]

The only option is for Thais to simply not buy it.

[Sierra Tango]

9 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

If Thailand ever imports US beef it will be the end of the Thai beef industry. Thailand, like Australia, produces tasteless beef with the tenderness of Doc Marten airware soles, probably bursting with growth hormones, antibiotics and steroids. Disgusting stuff. No doubts why Thai farmers are puckering up at the thought of competition and being forced to up their game.

 

 

Thai beef certainly takes some investigation, research and trial and error to find something actually edible. The only place we can find some half decent steak is from a local market where we can order a tenderloin in now and then.

Have to agree about the Aussie beef, very hit and miss both taste and texture wise.

When sampling the imported stuff, New Zealand beef is usually very good but you do pay for what you get.

[Sierra Tango]

4 hours ago, JoePai said:

Hormones cannot be good for you, only have to look at Trump and all the beefburgers he eats  🤣

Whoremoans for Trump...

[SunnyinBangrak]

1 minute ago, Sierra Tango said:

Thai beef certainly takes some investigation, research and trial and error to find something actually edible. The only place we can find some half decent steak is from a local market where we can order a tenderloin in now and then.

Have to agree about the Aussie beef, very hit and miss both taste and texture wise, when sampling the imported stuff. New Zealand beef is usually very good but you do pay for what you get.

Honestly have no idea of its origin, but the cheap Wagyu available in Thai supermarkets is excellent value and really quite tasty. If memory serves in Samui we were paying about 220B for an approx 250g steak(Bangrak minimart). Other than that I cant remember ever having Thai steaks that I could chew through.

[josephbloggs]

16 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

If Thailand ever imports US beef it will be the end of the Thai beef industry. Thailand, like Australia, produces tasteless beef with the tenderness of Doc Marten airware soles, probably bursting with growth hormones, antibiotics and steroids. Disgusting stuff. No doubts why Thai farmers are puckering up at the thought of competition and being forced to up their game.

 

 

And US meat is prime, organic, hormone and anitibiotic free and (in the case of chickens) non chlorinated.  Right?

[SunnyinBangrak]

Just now, josephbloggs said:

And US meat is prime, organic, hormone and anitibiotic free and (in the case of chickens) non chlorinated.  Right?

US beef is melt in your mouth tender and bursting with flavor. A totally superior product. If you never had the pleasure not much point having a to and fro over the issue.

Ever wondered why carnivore/lion diet is so popular in the US? You'd need teeth like dracula and the well trained jaw muscles of Ms.Harris to try that in Thailand.

[Taboo2]

This is a country of More Runs....every efin day, I go to the mall and watch their families gorge themselves on KFC and other processed junk, every, efin day.  I have seen the obesity increase since 2016....and they are worried about imported USDA beef?????

 

Go figure.

 

Their stupidity knows no bounds!

[Patong2021]

20 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

The only option is for Thais to simply not buy it.

 

That is a difficult option.

On a direct retail level, yes it could be possible, provided that the beef is labeled as sourced from the USA, but that is not where the sales are made.  The USA beef would most likely be used by food processors and restaurant chains who do not have to declare their beef source.  How would  a consumer know the origin of the hamburger that is served up? Some restaurant chains have a clever  advertising approach, emphasizing "Australian" beef when  referring to some item menus, but with no mention on other items. The consumer doesn't know the origin. It could be Brazilian or Argentinian sourced. The Thai people would have to rely on the monopoly of  food processors to declare their  meat origins. I doubt that will happen. It is not done now.

 

[josephbloggs]

30 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

US beef is melt in your mouth tender and bursting with flavor. A totally superior product. If you never had the pleasure not much point having a to and fro over the issue.

Ever wondered why carnivore/lion diet is so popular in the US? You'd need teeth like dracula and the well trained jaw muscles of Ms.Harris to try that in Thailand.

I have had US beef several times. It was decent and tasty, but usually hormone treated to artificially stimulate growth. That's not for me, I prefer my meat natural, non hormone treated or antibiotic riddled because they are kept in confined closed pens.

I prefer Aussie beef, grass fed and allowed to roam free, not stuffed full of hormones and antibiotics. NZ is good too. Or British beef - Angus or Hereford. Again, not stuffed full of growth hormones or antibiotics. It is leaner but more natural than US beef. Argentinian is good quality but I'm not massively keen on the taste.

And I prefer my chicken unchlorinated. Don't you?

I know it hurts your nationalist pride but the US has some of the lowest food standards in the western world. Your food products are therefore generally inferior, no matter how tender and juicy they might be when you put them in your mouth. And Japanese beef dumps all over British, Australian and especially US beef. If you have ever had Kobe beef in Japan you would know.

And yes, Thai beef is generally tough and not so great, but they do have quality produce too. Pon Yang Kham beef from Sakon Nakhon has been compared to Kobe beef for texture and marbling. I haven't tried it but it looks amazing and I have family there so will try on my next trip. Sorry, the US  just has chemical laden crap for most of their food.

 

[still kicking]

40 minutes ago, Sierra Tango said:

Thai beef certainly takes some investigation, research and trial and error to find something actually edible. The only place we can find some half decent steak is from a local market where we can order a tenderloin in now and then.

Have to agree about the Aussie beef, very hit and miss both taste and texture wise.

When sampling the imported stuff, New Zealand beef is usually very good but you do pay for what you get.

Nonsense

[Will B Good]

10 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

 

That is a difficult option.

On a direct retail level, yes it could be possible, provided that the beef is labeled as sourced from the USA, but that is not where the sales are made.  The USA beef would most likely be used by food processors and restaurant chains who do not have to declare their beef source.  How would  a consumer know the origin of the hamburger that is served up? Some restaurant chains have a clever  advertising approach, emphasizing "Australian" beef when  referring to some item menus, but with no mention on other items. The consumer doesn't know the origin. It could be Brazilian or Argentinian sourced. The Thai people would have to rely on the monopoly of  food processors to declare their  meat origins. I doubt that will happen. It is not done now.

 

 

Excellent points, well made.

[Keep Right]

 

https://www.drovers.com/news/hormones-beef-myth-vs-fact

 

I happen to love American beef especially Angus beef.

[NorthernRyland]

I gave up eating beef in Thailand years ago. I'll take any grade of US beef any day until Thailand produces better beef here locally.

[dinsdale]

44 minutes ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

Thailand, like Australia, produces tasteless beef with the tenderness of Doc Marten airware soles, probably bursting with growth hormones, antibiotics and steroids.

Love your generalization and speculation. The packs of Aussie beef Lotus sells are crap for sure but Foodland has some reasonable sirloin and ribeye. Not top shelf IMO but ok. As for HPG's in Australian and US beef it's not universal.

[save the frogs]

11 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

I gave up eating beef in Thailand years ago. I'll take any grade of US beef any day until Thailand produces better beef here locally.

the ground beef is ok 

[dinsdale]

A trick to tenderising Thai beef from the wet market (the stuff that hasn't been hung). Put it in a zip-lock bag with a bit of pineapple juice and put it in the fridge for 3 days. Take out every day and literally rinse and repeat. Use a clean bag each time. This works. 

[emptypockets]

7 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Love your generalization and speculation. The packs of Aussie beef Lotus sells are crap for sure but Foodland has some reasonable sirloin and ribeye. Not top shelf IMO but ok. As for HPG's in Australian and US beef it's not universal.

Yeah my mate is a cattle farmer. A real one. Thousands of acres. No time to feed the cattle hormones or anything else. He breeds them and sells them. Biggest job he has , if he has time ,is pregnancy checking. And also catching young bulls. The ones we eat.

[NorthernRyland]

25 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

the ground beef is ok 

I've had burgers where they try to mix in onions and herbs but it's never very good. Lots of gristle usually is the problem.

[Patong2021]

1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

I have had US beef several times. It was decent and tasty, but usually hormone treated to artificially stimulate growth. That's not for me, I prefer my meat natural, non hormone treated or antibiotic riddled because they are kept in confined closed pens.

I prefer Aussie beef, grass fed and allowed to roam free, not stuffed full of hormones and antibiotics. NZ is good too. Or British beef - Angus or Hereford. Again, not stuffed full of growth hormones or antibiotics. It is leaner but more natural than US beef. Argentinian is good quality but I'm not massively keen on the taste.

And I prefer my chicken unchlorinated. Don't you?

I know it hurts your nationalist pride but the US has some of the lowest food standards in the western world. Your food products are therefore generally inferior, no matter how tender and juicy they might be when you put them in your mouth. And Japanese beef dumps all over British, Australian and especially US beef. If you have ever had Kobe beef in Japan you would know.

And yes, Thai beef is generally tough and not so great, but they do have quality produce too. Pon Yang Kham beef from Sakon Nakhon has been compared to Kobe beef for texture and marbling. I haven't tried it but it looks amazing and I have family there so will try on my next trip. Sorry, the US  just has chemical laden crap for most of their food.

 

 

I do agree with much of what you write, but the differences in  the beef quality  are also due to factors, in addition to the feedlot practice of fattening up the cattle.  Australian beef, like Canadian beef and US beef  production also includes the use of feedlots.  It is done to maximize the profit margins. An estimated 80% of Australian beef  finishes off at the feedlot where it can spend  2-4 months being fattened up. The  high fat content Wagyu  variety can spend over a year. Canada beef  has a similar feedlot experience. The US feedlot experience 4-6 months at the feedlot, with an estimated 97%+ off at the feedlot. Yes, it makes a difference, but it isn't the decisive factor.

 

I offer that the Australian  (and Canadian) feedlot diet which emphasizes more grain and roughage results in a leaner higher quality beef results in a better  product. US cattle have a more corn based diet. And it includes the corn stalks and leaves. It isn't high in nutritional value, and results in a  higher fat content. In respect to the use of antibiotics, much of the world  has careful restrictions. China, Brazil, and the United States meat producers rely on the use of antibiotics.  IMO, US  consumers are being poisoned so that they can have cheap meat.

 

The problem  we have in Thailand is that sourcing good quality  beef is difficult. The US has some of the world's finest quality beef that comes from "organic" type farms that  free range raise the cattle and that avoid  indiscriminate   antibiotic use. The thing is that the market for the product is small, and the meat is expensive, such that it won't be seen in Thailand. 

The  restaurants that serve  quality beef in Thailand are few and far between and you pay for it as you say. Most restaurant chains, and I can think of one large one, serves some really poor quality beef. It is gristly, tough and requires "processing" before it can be used. I avoid two chains because my experience since Covid is that the steak will be tough and near inedible. I expect that if US beef  flooded the market, it would be of poor quality too. The US cattle producers  focus on quantity, not quality.

 

 

[josephbloggs]

8 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

 

I do agree with much of what you write, but the differences in  the beef quality  are due to other factors, other than  the feedlot practice of fattening up the cattle.    Australian beef, like Canadian beef and US beef  production also includes the use of feedlots.  It is done to maximize the profit margins. An estimated 80% of Australian beef  finishes off at the feedlot where it can spend  2-4 months being fattened up. The  high fat content Wagyu  variety can spend over a year. Canada beef  has a similar feedlot experience. The US feedlot experience 4-6 months at the feedlot, with an estimated 97%+ off at the feedlot. Yes, it makes a difference, but it isn't the decisive factor.

 

I offer that the Australian  (and Canadian) feedlot diet which emphasizes more grain and roughage results in a leaner higher quality beef results in a better  product. US cattle have a more corn based diet. And it includes the corn stalks and leaves. It isn't high in nutritional value, and results in a  higher fat content. In respect to the use of antibiotics, much of the world  has careful restrictions. China, Brazil, and the United States meat producers rely on the use of antibiotics.  IMO, US  consumers are being poisoned so that they can have cheap meat.

 

The problem  we have in Thailand is that sourcing good quality  beef is difficult. The US has some of the world's finest quality beef that comes from "organic" type farms that  free range raise the cattle and that avoid  indiscriminate   antibiotic use. The thing is that the market for the product is small, and the meat is expensive, such that it won't be seen in Thailand. 

The  restaurants that serve  quality beef in Thailand are few and far between and you pay for it as you say. Most restaurant chains, and I can think of one large one, serves some really poor quality beef. It is gristly, tough and requires "processing" before it can be used. I avoid two chains because my experience since Covid is that the steak will be tough and near inedible. I expect that if US beef  flooded the market, it would be of poor quality too. The US cattle producers  focus on quantity, not quality.

 

 

Some interesting points, and well put.

[lordgrinz]

I usually avoid steak, unless I get the perfect piece cooked to perfection, otherwise I would just rather not eat it.

[JimHuaHin]

Of course, all Thai-produced meats are drug free.

[SABloke]

1.4 Million beef farming households in Thailand? Total BS (unless they are including every household that has a cow - my neighbours have two, but they are not "farming" cattle. 🙄

[trainee wombat]

Look what the hormones in US beef has done to Americans, a nation of Moron

s.

[jvs]

On 4/18/2025 at 11:32 PM, Patong2021 said:

 

I do agree with much of what you write, but the differences in  the beef quality  are also due to factors, in addition to the feedlot practice of fattening up the cattle.  Australian beef, like Canadian beef and US beef  production also includes the use of feedlots.  It is done to maximize the profit margins. An estimated 80% of Australian beef  finishes off at the feedlot where it can spend  2-4 months being fattened up. The  high fat content Wagyu  variety can spend over a year. Canada beef  has a similar feedlot experience. The US feedlot experience 4-6 months at the feedlot, with an estimated 97%+ off at the feedlot. Yes, it makes a difference, but it isn't the decisive factor.

 

I offer that the Australian  (and Canadian) feedlot diet which emphasizes more grain and roughage results in a leaner higher quality beef results in a better  product. US cattle have a more corn based diet. And it includes the corn stalks and leaves. It isn't high in nutritional value, and results in a  higher fat content. In respect to the use of antibiotics, much of the world  has careful restrictions. China, Brazil, and the United States meat producers rely on the use of antibiotics.  IMO, US  consumers are being poisoned so that they can have cheap meat.

 

The problem  we have in Thailand is that sourcing good quality  beef is difficult. The US has some of the world's finest quality beef that comes from "organic" type farms that  free range raise the cattle and that avoid  indiscriminate   antibiotic use. The thing is that the market for the product is small, and the meat is expensive, such that it won't be seen in Thailand. 

The  restaurants that serve  quality beef in Thailand are few and far between and you pay for it as you say. Most restaurant chains, and I can think of one large one, serves some really poor quality beef. It is gristly, tough and requires "processing" before it can be used. I avoid two chains because my experience since Covid is that the steak will be tough and near inedible. I expect that if US beef  flooded the market, it would be of poor quality too. The US cattle producers  focus on quantity, not quality.

 

 

I find the beef from Thai feedlots not too bad either.