Experience has taught us that there is nothing that spreads faster than an unsubstantiated rumor, especially when the folks spreading it have no idea what they are talking about.  Whether it is the latest small town gossip or the hot off the press social media news, it seems that misinformation is everybody’s favorite topic to speak on.  Over the last several months, cattle vaccinations has taken a sweeping hold on people’s interest and, to no surprise, has been way off the mark.

Sometime in early spring, a social media post questioned how long meat needed to be cooked to rid it of any leftover trace of the mRNA vaccine.  And before anyone stopped to question the truthfulness or validity of the concern, the post went viral and everyone began talking about the new, mandatory mRNA vaccines that were found in meat.  Without a basic scientific knowledge of either how vaccines work or what mRNA is or even any experience with vaccinations in livestock, this could have been concerning.  But with a little research and a little understanding and maybe a little logic, we can easily debunk the issue here.

To begin with, there are no mRNA vaccinations being used for cattle.  None at all.  April 5, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association put out a statement in response to consumer concerns, saying, “There are no current mRNA vaccines licensed for use in beef cattle in the United States. Cattle farmers and ranchers do vaccinate cattle to treat and prevent many diseases, but presently none of these vaccines include mRNA technology.”  

Even if cattle producers were using mRNA vaccinations, withdrawal protocols have been well established and followed that protect any lingering trace of such injections in any meats.  Simply put, after giving any sort of injection, a producer must wait a specified number of days before harvesting livestock to ensure that the vaccine or antibiotics has been cleared and that the meat is clean and safe for consumption.  For most vaccines or antibiotics, the withdrawal period is around three to four weeks, but could be as many as forty five days.

Not knowing that there are safeguards already established to be sure that no trace of any injection can be found in harvested meats, many consumers were concerned with the sort of fallout that would come from eating beef from animals given mRNA vaccinations.  Unnerving thoughts like “will I develop my own antibodies to this vaccine” to “is this going to change my DNA” floated along the scared, misinformed masses.  

mRNA might sound scary or intense but the truth is mRNA is a simple but crucial element our bodies use to create necessary proteins.  Within each cell in a living system, is a structure that reads the DNA, the body’s blueprint, and makes proteins for specific tasks.  mRNA is made up of four different amino acids in varying sequences for the specific protein that will be made.  Those amino acids are structured together with a ribose sugar that can easily be broken down once the amino acid sequence has been read and used again in a new mRNA strand.

In the instance of mRNA as a vaccine, the sequence creates a protein that in turn will create a piece of the virus which then initiates the sequence for the body to begin making antibodies or defenses against such a sickness.  Then when the system encounters the true virus, it will recognize it and mount a full defense to rid the body of the sickness.  In essence, the mRNA begins a chain of events that helps the body know how to recognize and defend against that specific illness or disease.

Because of its more fragile structure so that the amino acids can be broken down to be reused, mRNA injected as a vaccination don’t last long.  Which means you can take comfort that if cattle were given mRNA vaccines, the mRNA would have been broken down long before they were harvested.  

While there are no approved mRNA cattle vaccinations currently, there are ongoing studies to see if this can’t be a future component to livestock health care.  As science and technology continues to advance, it may be possible that one day mRNA vaccines will be used.  Consumers can take heart that from the creators of the vaccine to the veterinarians that prescribe them to the producers that use them, they won’t be carelessly or haphazardly given.

Since the use of the Covid-19 vaccine, there has been a serious uptick of “googling” mRNA and mRNA vaccinations.  As people turn to social media as their undisputed source of all knowledge, misinformation and rumors are bound to be a result.  Rather than putting trust in such a resource, trust that your livestock producers are raising a product that you can safely and proudly put on your table in front of your table, because they do.