Monsanto’s Cloned Growth Hormone rBST Still Contaminates US Milk
Breast-feeding mothers are often cautioned against eating and drinking certain things; it’s because some of these things can find their way into their breast milk and then their baby. Wouldn’t it make sense, then, that some of the hormones and antibiotics given to dairy cattle would make their way into your milk carton? One hormone, recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST, is given to about 20% of dairy cattle in the United States, having unknown effects on individuals who consume their milk.
Is rBST Safe?
IS rBST safe? That depends on who you ask. Companies like Monsanto, the original producer of Posilac (an rBST) product had to reluctantly put safety warnings on the sides of their packages—admitting that it has about 20 “toxic effects” on the cows.
It’s a hormone that forces cows to produce more milk. More milk = more money, but the hormone makes the cows sick. Among other things, it causes mastitis which is an infection of the udder. This infection causes pus to be released into the milk. Yes, pus is in your milk.
In turn, large scale dairy operations that use rBST must use more antibiotics in the cows to counter the infection causing effects of the hormones.
According to the Organic Consumers Association, Dr. Samuel S. Epstein of the Cancer Prevention Coalition warns:
- rBST milk is chemically and nutritionally different than natural milk.
- Milk from cows injected with rBST is contaminated with the hormone, traces of which are absorbed through the gut into the blood of people who consume this milk or products made from it.
- rBST milk is supercharged with high levels of the natural growth factor (IGF-1), which is readily absorbed through the gut.
- Excess levels of IGF-1 have been incriminated in well-documented scientific publications as causes of breast, colon, and prostate cancers. Additionally, IGF-1 blocks natural defense mechanisms against early submicroscopic cancers.
Interestingly, numerous large and wealthy countries have banned the use of hormones in milk including all countries of the European Union, Norway, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, and New Zealand. The United States, obviously has not.
What does this mean for you?
It simply gives you another reason to buy organic, hormone-free dairy products (if you must consume dairy). And if you think you can do without dairy—it’s just another reason to go vegan or simply avoid dairy.
Unfortunately even the organic products are now contaminated with Fukushima radiation. There's not much left on this planet that isn't contaminated.
I agree. Kind of hard to know what we are consuming these days.
there is no pus in your milk. any cows that have the mastitis as an infection are milked separately and the milk from them is dumped out. The levels of IGF-1 in milk from cows being supplemented with the protein hormone rBST is within normal range and does not increase any risks of getting any kind of cancer. no matter what kind of milk you drink it will not cause any harm to you. Plus, rBST stands for recombinant bovine somatotropin, which means it is specific to the species bovine(cows). Humans have somatotropin also only it is called human somatotropin or hST. It is made the same way insulin is made.
Sincerely,
An American Dairy Farmer!
P.S. Have some respect for the people and place your food comes from!
Oh i forgot to mention any milk containing any antibiotics or medication is dumped out! All milk is tested for any of these things before it is put on the market!
growth hormones in cows caused baby breasts to grow in the 70’s as it got into the food chain, so they changed the formula, in the 80’s it then caused algae blooms in rivers and streams, so it was changed again, how about now it causes obesity, an invisible side effect…
just dont eat/drink anything from the dairy industry, the whole science of it is corrupt and the farmers too blinded to see the issues.
I thought I’d jump in here, just to get the word out that rBST DOES affect humans, and I can speak from personal experience. If you have a weak stomach, you may not want to read on. For many years, I experienced sudden severe doubled-over type abdominal pain and subsequent immediate evacuation. I thought it seemed related to intake of fats, so I cut out anything fried, creamy, and otherwise rich foods. It still happened and several physicians assumed I had irritable bowel syndrome (their label for “we have no idea what is causing this & don’t have the time to figure it out”). Since I live in this body, I started to see a common trend that my symptoms were always related to intake of a food produced by cattle, but did not occur every time I consumed a milk product or beef. To set the record straight, my dad grew up on a large dairy farm in upstate N.Y., and I grew up on a ranch, raised beef & dairy cattle as 4-H projects, and am personally biased in favor of cows. I didn’t make the direct connection until traveling to Scotland, having real butter every morning and no side effects, not once! I then learned that Scotland does not use dairy products that contain rBST or any other growth hormone. So. . . when I returned home, I started reading labels and only purchased those dairy products not containing any growth hormone. You guessed it – no symptoms since, and that was 10 years ago. I feel that I have my life back after suffering over 25 years. Please get the word out, as I’m sure I can’t be the only one. Other’s need to know, because if growth hormones can cause these side effects, who knows what else they are doing to us.
Save tax dollars — where is the FDA — they are supposed to protect consumers?