CHICAGO (RPRN) 5/01/09--This was not originally intended to be part two of my series on rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) also known as rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin) in Our Dairy Products. But here it is.
Something that left me feeling unsettled was the fact that Canadian and European regulators have found that the FDA completely failed to consider a study that showed how the increased IGF-1 in rBGH milk could survive digestion and make its way into the intestines and blood stream of consumers. These findings are significant because numerous studies now demonstrate that IGF-1 is an important factor in the growth of cancers of the breast, prostate and colon.
Then one day I was eating from my pint of Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche—my weekly no-fail indulgence—and realized… rBGH could be in my ice cream! I wrote to Haagen Dazs via email, voicing my concern that their products might contain these hormones. Here is the response I received from the Consumer Response Representative:
“Also, sometribove increases a cow’s milk output by supplementing the animal’s own natural bST hormone. Extensive FDA study has shown that milk from treated cows has the same nutritional value and composition as milk from untreated cows. The decision to feed this supplement is made by the farmer and cannot be independently verified, since there is no method of differentiating between the hormone fed as a supplement and the hormone produced naturally by the cow.
Questions or concerns regarding the use of bST can be addressed directly to the FDA, the agency responsible for the approval of the hormone:
Mary Alice Miller, Chief
Education and Communication Branch
Center for Veterinary Medicine
456 Metro Park North II
7500 Standish Place
Rockville, MD 20855″
I did not really find that comforting.
Source: ICountForMyEarth