
REYKJAVÍK – This investigation explored the controversy around PMSG, a hormone used for meat production: How it is produced, why and where it is used, ethical debates, and the complex legal battles around it.
PMSG is extracted from the blood of pregnant horses that is produced in only a small number of countries around the world. Although the hormone is little known to the public, it is widely used in meat production. In recent years it has been at the centre of local controversies over animal welfare conditions and the use of the hormone in industrial farming.
The team visited Iceland, a major source of PMSG and the only country in Europe that is still producing it, to understand how locals are organising around the issue. They then traced the use of the hormone around the world.
Photo credit: Animal Welfare Foundation
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