> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foodconsumer.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # When it comes to turkey, bigger isn't always better - URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/turkey_1122141159/ - Published: 2014-11-22T10:58:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-22T15:45:03.000Z - Description: Center for Food Safety and allied groups are suing the FDA over its 2008 approval of ractopamine in turkey feed, saying the agency never fully studied the growth drug. The piece cites tremors and cardiovascular problems in animals and a six-man study in which three reported heart pounding. - Author: Food Consumer - Tags: Chemical, Food Safety, #vivvo-import [DONATE](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=7y2PkxdQNYfWnsxnQgt699bfarNw5Be2&ref=foodconsumer.org) **You may be getting an extra side dish with your Thanksgiving turkey that you didn’t bargain for: a risky drug called ractopamine.** Ractopamine is **a growth enhancing drug that’s added to turkey feed**—as well as the feed of pigs and cattle—to increase their muscle mass - making big turkeys even bigger for your holiday table.**But when it comes to your health, bigger isn’t necessarily better.** [**Tell the FDA “No thanks” to ractopamine in your turkey!**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=VpEasDvRFXPk4fC%2FfvUcadbfarNw5Be2&ref=foodconsumer.org) **The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed widespread use of ractopamine in turkey feed since its approval in 2008**without conducting comprehensive scientific studies that document the risks of ractopamine to human and animal health. That’s why Center for Food Safety, the Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approving ractopamine for use in turkey feed without fully examining how the drug affects people, animals and the environment. [**Tell the FDA to protect human health and animal welfare by banning the use of ractopamine in turkey production!**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=th118Tw%2BdcJe7Wz6FcI9WNbfarNw5Be2&ref=foodconsumer.org) **Ractopamine raises significant food safety and animal welfare concerns.**Ractopamine mimics stress hormones causing the turkeys, pigs and cattle that eat it to convert feed to muscle more quickly. **It is connected to “downed” animals, muscular tremors, cardiovascular dysfunction and increased aggressive behavior in animals.** While human health studies on ractopamine are limited, those that exist raise serious concerns. **The drug’s primary human health study, conducted on just six healthy men, caused heart pounding in three of the men so severe that one of them had to be withdrawn from the study.** **That is bad news for consumers since both USDA and Consumer Reports have found residues of ractopamine in meat samples.** That’s because there’s no mandatory withdrawal period for the drug - **ractopamine can be fed to turkeys right up until the day they are slaughtered!** Unlike the U.S., **dozens of countries**, including the 27 members of the European Union, China, and Taiwan, **ban or strictly limit the use of ractopamine**. Yet the U.S. continues to approve ractopamine and drugs like it at break-neck pace. [**Tell the FDA it’s time for the U.S. to join the international community in banning this risky drug!**](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=qlyIlKHPcGhTzpEBTHK3bdbfarNw5Be2&ref=foodconsumer.org) Thanks for everything that you do, **Center for Food Safety** **Contact Us** CFS welcomes your questions and comments. Please contact us at [office@centerforfoodsafety.org](mailto:office@centerforfoodsafety.org), or at one of our offices. National Headquarters 660 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, #302 Washington, DC 20003 phone [(202) 547-9359](tel:%28202%29%20547-9359) | fax[(202) 547-9429](tel:%28202%29%20547-9429) [www.centerforfoodsafety.org](http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=lrr6IFpo8amyGMKF8korwO2mopJr0W%2Fu&ref=foodconsumer.org)