Bovine Growth Hormone Potential Hazards in Milk

What is rBGH?

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone is a genetically engineered copy of a naturally occurring hormone produced by cows. Manufactured by Monsanto Company, the drug is sold to dairy farmers under the name POSILAC, though you'll also find it called BGH, rBGH, BST and rBST. When rBGH gets injected into dairy cows, milk production increases by as much as 10-15%. The use of rBGH on dairy cows was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in late 1993 and has been in use since 1994.

Both the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and the Consumer's Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, have warned of the potential hazards to human health caused by consuming products derived from rBGH-treated cows.

While rBGH is banned in Europe and Canada, and has been boycotted by 95 percent of US dairy farmers, the FDA, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture continue to license the drug (and other new genetically engineered foods) without pre-market safety tests. Thanks to industry pressure, genetically engineered foods are NOT required to carry identifying labels. According to the US Federal Office of Management and Budget the projected increase in milk production caused by rBGH introduction will cost American taxpayers an additional $116 million of dollars for further price supports in 1995 alone. And what about the cows? rBGH use will cause suffering to millions of animals: rBGH is like "crack" for cows. It "revs" their system and forces them to produce a lot more milk - but it also makes them sick. Even the FDA admits that cows injected with rBGH could suffer from increased udder infections (mastitis), severe reproductive problems, digestive disorders, foot and leg ailments, and persistent sores and lacerations.

There have been no long term studies of BGH's effects on humans. The congressional General Accounting Office has warned of the potential human health hazards from the consumption of milk or flesh (about 40% of the beef used to make hamburgers come from "old" dairy cows) derived from BGH-treated cows. The Consumer's Union went on to state that the FDA should not have even approved it. BGH "treatment" causes significantly increased levels of another growth hormone called IGF-1 in the milk, according to a 1990 study sponsored by Monsanto and published in Science. Bovine IGF-1 is identical to the IGF-1 naturally found in humans.

Your Right to Know about the Secret Changes in Your Food

More than half of America's processed grocery products, from corn flakes to granola bars to diet drinks, contain genetically altered ingredients. They are unlabeled and untested, and we are eating them. Your Right to Know is a complete, full-color reference guide outlining how unmarked genetically modified foods go from the factory to the family dining table, and what consumers can do about the health risks they present. This accessible guide is for concerned parents; as well as anyone concerned about genetically altered foods — who want to know more about the potential health risks, the organic alternatives, and the methods available to counter the corporate takeover of the food we eat.

Monsanto and the Dairy Industry's Dirty Little Secret

Seven years ago, Feb. 4, 1994, despite nationwide protests by consumer groups, Monsanto and the FDA forced onto the US market the world's first GE animal drug, recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH, sometimes known as rBST). BGH is a powerful GE drug produced by Monsanto which, injected into dairy cows, forces them to produce 15%-25% more milk, in the process seriously damaging their health and reproductive capacity.

Despite warnings from scientists, such as Dr. Michael Hansen from the Consumers Union and Dr. Samuel Epstein from the Cancer Prevention Coalition, that milk from rBGH injected cows contains substantially higher amounts of a potent cancer tumor promoter called IGF-1, and despite evidence that rBGH milk contains higher levels of pus, bacteria, and antibiotics, the FDA gave the hormone its seal of approval, with no real pre-market safety testing required.

Moreover, the FDA ruled, in a decision marred by rampant conflict of interest (several key FDA decision makers, including Michael Taylor, previously worked for Monsanto), that rBGH-derived products did not have to be labeled, despite polls showing that 90% of American consumers wanted labeling -- mainly so they could avoid buying rBGH-tainted products.

All of the major criticisms leveled against rBGH have turned out to be true. Since 1994, every industrialized country in the world, except for the US, has banned the drug. In 1998, Canadian government scientists revealed that Monsanto's own data on feeding rBGH to rats, carefully concealed by the company and the FDA, indicated possible cancer dangers to humans.

Since rBGH was approved, approximately 40,000 small and medium-sized US dairy farmers, 1/3 of the total in the country, have gone out of business, concentrating milk production in the hands of industrial-sized dairies, most of whom are injecting their cows with this cruel and dangerous drug.

In a 1998 survey by Family Farm Defenders, it was found that mortality rates for cows on factory dairy farms in Wisconsin, those injecting their herds with rBGH, were running at 40% per year. In other words, after two and a half years of rBGH injections most of these drugged and supercharged cows were dead. Typically, dairy cows live for 15-20 years.

Alarmed and revolted by rBGH, consumers have turned in droves to organic milk and dairy products or to brands labeled as rBGH-free. Nonetheless, use of the drug has continued to increase in the US (and in nations like Brazil and Mexico) especially in large dairy herds, so that currently 15% of America's 10 million lactating dairy cows are being injected with rBGH.

Compounding the problem of rBGH contamination, most of the nation's 1500 dairy companies are allowing the co-mingling of rBGH and non-rBGH milk, thereby contaminating 80-90% of the nation's milk and dairy supply, including all of the major infant formula brands. For a list of organic and rBGH-free dairies in the US consult the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) website.

The major reason that rBGH is still on the market is that it is not labeled. Supermarket dairy managers, following guidelines circulated by the rBGH and biotech lobby, routinely lie to consumers, telling them either that rBGH is not in their products, or that there's no way to tell, and reassuring them that the FDA has certified that rBGH is safe. Of course, every survey conducted since 1994 shows that if consumers were given a choice, they would boycott rBGH-tainted products.

Responding to the global controversy surrounding the drug, Monsanto put BGH for sale in 1998, but there were no takers. Transnational PR firms working with the biotech industry have categorized Monsanto's handling of the rBGH controversy as a "public relations disaster." Starbucks has been a target as 3/4 of the 32 million gallons of milk it buys every year in the US are coming from dairies that allow cows to be injected with rBGH.

Once Starbucks' 15 million customers learn that most of the latte or cappuccino drinks they're paying top dollar for (3/4 of the volume of these drinks are milk) contain an extra dose of pus, antibiotics, and growth hormones and that Fair Trade and organic coffee constitute less than one percent of company sales, they may decide to take their business elsewhere. Total annual sales for the company are approximately $2.5 billion.

The worst nightmare of Monsanto and the biotech industry is starting to materialize: a mass-based consumer and environmental marketplace pressure campaign in the heartland of GE foods-North America. A number of major US food companies are already responding to public pressure and starting to sweep GE foods off their products lists and their grocery shelves: Gerber (baby food), Heinz (baby food), Frito-Lay (at least for their corn), Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Trader Joe's, and even McDonald's (at least for their French fries).

The Monsanto rBGH/BST Milk Wars Handbook

rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone), is a genetically engineered (GE) potent variant of the natural growth hormone produced by cows. Manufactured by Monsanto, it is sold to dairy farmers under the trade name POSILAC. Injection of this GE hormone forces cows to increase their milk production by about 10%. Monsanto and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) insist that rBGH milk is indistinguishable from natural milk, and safe to cows and consumers.

Consider the following:

• rBGH makes cows sick. Monsanto has been forced to admit to about 20 veterinary health risks on its Posilac label including mastitis and udder inflammation
• rBGH milk is contaminated by pus from mastitis induced by rBGH, and antibiotics used to treat the mastitis.
• rBGH milk is contaminated by the GE hormone which can be absorbed through the gut and induce immunological effects.
• rBGH milk is chemically and nutritionally very different from natural milk.
• rBGH milk is supercharged with high levels of a natural growth factor (IGF-1), excess levels of which have been incriminated as major causes of breast, colon, and prostate cancers.
• rBGH factory farms pose a major threat to the viability of small dairy farms. Thus, rBGH enriches Monsanto while posing risks, but no benefits to the entire U.S. population.

Although there have been no long-term tests of the hormone's health effects on humans, some preliminary studies link BGH with increased risks of breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes and hypertension. BGH treated cows are more susceptible to "mad cow disease", udder infections and birthing deformed calves. Milk and other products from BGH treated cows may contain less protein and higher levels of saturated fat as well as pus, bacteria and antibiotics. Even though the FDA has acknowledged some of these dangers, they maintain approval of BGH's use in beef and dairy products and have refused to require labeling of products derived from use of BGH.

Both the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and the Consumer's Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, have warned of the potential hazards to human health caused by consuming products derived from rBGH-treated cows.

While rBGH is banned in Europe and Canada, and has been boycotted by 95 percent of US dairy farmers, the FDA, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture continue to license the drug (and other new genetically engineered foods) without pre-market safety tests. Thanks to industry pressure, genetically engineered foods are NOT required to carry identifying labels. According to the US Federal Office of Management and Budget the projected increase in milk production caused by rBGH introduction will cost American taxpayers an additional $116 million of dollars for further price supports in 1995 alone. And what about the cows? The drug company responsible for the marketing of this absurd drug under the trade name Posilac is Monsanto. In their words: Use of POSILAC has been associated with increases in cystic ovaries and disorders of the uterus...digestive disorders...enlarged hocks and lesions (lacerations, enlargements, calluses) of the knee

Genetically Engineered Growth Hormones could be in your Milk and Dairy Products

Starting on February 3, 1994, milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, yogurt, beef and infant formula sold and consumed throughout the United States will be laced with genetically engineered recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) - also known as "Bovine Somatotropin" or BST. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of rBGH in dairy cows without long-term testing on the hormone's health effects on consumers.

The FDA has also refused to require labeling of milk and other dairy products derived from use of the genetically engineered hormone, even though more than 90% of consumers favor labeling of rBGH products so they can avoid buying them.

Why did the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler "lied to Congress"?

Pure Foods Campaign claims that Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler "lied to Congress" when he assured legislators that bovine somatrotropin (BST), the genetically engineered growth hormone, was destroyed by pasteurization. Kessler's assurance, which spared Monsanto (BST's manufacturer) the expense of any further research, was based on a scientific paper written by Paul Groenewegen, a graduate student from Guelph, Canada. According to PFC, Groenewegen was "outraged" to learn that the FDA had misrepresented his research. Far from destroying BST, Groenewegen's research showed that subjecting BST to pasteurization temperatures 120 times normal only destroyed 19 percent of the BST in milk. PFC also charges that the FDA will not release research that "proves that lab animals got cancer from BST," despite numerous Freedom of Information Act requests.

Think Before You Drink

"Published research shows that rBGH injected into dairy cows substantially increases the concentration of IGF-1 in cow's milk. (IGF-1 is a hormone that appears naturally in humans and cows. The IGF-1 in cows is chemically identical to the IGF-1 in humans. IGF-1 regulates cell growth, which causes cells to divide, particularly in children). Feeding relatively low doses of IGF-1 to mature rats for only two weeks resulted in statistically significant and systemic effects: increased body weight; increased liver weight; increased bone length; and decreased epiphyseal width. These results confirm prior theoretical predictions. In layperson's terms: this drug may well be dangerous to humans, especially infants and children. The FDA has completely failed to investigate the effects of long-term feeding of IGF-1 and genetically engineered milk on growth, in infant rats or infants of any other species.

Legislators are busy passing so-called "Food Disparagement" Laws

"Something stinks. And it's not just left-over junk food or bacteria and feces-contaminated meat from filthy slaughterhouses and hog and poultry factories. It's not just the scent of chemical pesticides on non-organic fruits and vegetables. It's not just the pus, antibiotics, and growth hormones souring the public attitude toward rBGH dairy products and other unlabeled, untested genetically engineered foods. It's more than this. It's in the tap water, the topsoil, the air. In the alarming statistics on increasing cancer, food poisoning, chemical hyper-sensitivity, antibiotic resistance, allergies, sterility, and immune disorders. No wonder 80% of the public in a recent poll ranked "food safety" as a "very important" issue. But now perhaps the most putrid smell of all seems to be wafting out of the halls and backrooms of Congress, where a bipartisan effort is underway to weaken already inadequate food safety laws.

Further smells emanate from state capitals in South Dakota, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Colorado, and Louisiana--and perhaps soon other states--where indentured legislators are busy passing so-called "food disparagement" laws designed by ag-chemical- biotech industry lobbyists. Laws intended to curtail your right to free speech. To make it illegal to hand out a leaflet like this one, or to dump "suspect" rBGH milk where it belongs--in the gutter.

Instead of giving us what we want: affordable, healthy, natural, clean food--safety-tested and clearly labeled to enable consumers to exercise free choice--the powers that be seem intent upon taking away our right to know what's been done to our food and instead delivering another message: Let them eat hormones, feces, chemicals, dioxin, antibiotics... Government and corporation hacks use so-called "risk assessment" and "cost accounting" to tell us it's "too expensive" to clean-up food industry practices, even as the Centers for Disease Control admit that 20 to 80 million people a year get food poisoning; and published data indicate that environmental and food-related cancer rates are steadily increasing."