Chinese Athletes Going Veg Before Olympics

Many Chinese athletes are giving up meat in preparation for the Olympics, concerned that the drugs used to raise animals may compromise the results of their mandatory drug tests. Firstpost.com reports that athletes and their trainers are concerned about the presence of clenbuterol, a drug widely used in commercial beef farms, which would disqualify them from competing if found in their system. In the past, the World Anti-Doping Agency has found many athletes to test positive for the drug, although it remains ambiguous whether it was a by-product of their diets or intentionally consumed to reduce fat and boost performance. The Jiangsu Sports Training Center stopped serving beef in January, and the nation’s entire aquatics team—with 196 competitors—decided not to consume beef, pork, or mutton for 40 days beginning that same month.