Hormones in Foods

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Call it the milky weigh:  Is it worth it to look for dairy products that are free of synthetic, genetically modified, recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST)? We say yes, emphatically. From the human health standpoint, IGF-1,a substance produced in our bodies by rBGH, may increase the risk of cancers of the breast, prostate, colon, lung and bone, according to Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. From the animal welfare point of view, rBGH is terribly inhumane, causing swollen, painful udders and frequent infections, which, of course, mean more antibiotic treatment (and residues in dairy products).

That's why, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Breast Cancer Action has launched a "pinkwashing" campaign asking Yoplait , which promotes its contributions to breast cancer research, to stop using milk from rBGH-treated cows in its yogurt.  Sure, it produces way more milk, but given the negative impacts, why does any dairy producer continue to use this controversial hormone? One reason: Manufacturer Monsanto's strong-arm tactics make it hard to say no. Having sued conscientious companies such as Ben & Jerry's to try and stop their labeling products as rBGH-free, Monsanto is now pressuring retailers, who say they're only responding to consumer demand for hormone-free choices. At the same time, Monsanto is looking to unload the rBGH arm of its business (and its stock rose after the announcement).

How to know you're buying rBGH-free milk? It's easy.The surefire way:  Buy organic. Organic milk, carried by Costco and Wal-mart as well as Whole Foods and other natural markets, is the fastest-growing sector in organic foods, largely because it is growth hormone- and antibiotic- free. Yesterday, at a luncheon honoring him as winner of the Glynwood Medal from the eponymous Center dedicated to sustainable local agriculture, Fred Kirschenmann (also on our first Plenty 20 list of environmental leaders), told us he's bullish on Organic Valley. His reason: OV distributes nationwide but remains a true cooperative of small dairy farms.

If organic seems too pricey, many non-organic brands have also eschewed this udderly awful hormone, which is also now rejected by Starbucks, Kroger Supermarkets, and Dean Foods Co., the nation's largest milk processor and distributorClick on your state to find a list of rBGH-free dairy brands at Sustainable Table.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2009

    Thank you for this post.  I have found it so ironic that many of the foods supporting "The Cure" are not very healthy, such as yoplait, hershey's syrup etc.  I completely appreciate that they support the cure but it would make sense if they were healthier, with organic dairy and no corn syrup!

    Susan

  • AccidentalTourist
    AccidentalTourist Member Posts: 365
    edited March 2009

    I agree but it is worth noting that any milk contains natural growth hormones which, for obvious reasons, may be contraindicated for bc sufferers.

  • Yazmin
    Yazmin Member Posts: 840
    edited March 2009

    FloridaLady:

    Thank you again for starting yet another well thought-out, extremely interesting thread. And thank you for this great web site (Sustainable Table).

    The best organic yogurt in the world is made by this company: http://www.traderspointcreamery.com/ I mean: this one can only compare to the most totally natural yogurt I was raised on in Europe (back then in France, yogurt was sold in little GLASS containers, without ANYTHING written on the outside: it came straight from the farm). The taste is unlike anything I have ever tried afterwards. And especially nothing like that ACTIVIA, which tastes so disgusting and dos not sustain the digestive system as well as an organic yogurt would.

    Indeed, AccidentalTourist is right: we have to be careful with dairy products, but on the other hand, organic yogurt from time to time will probably not hurt us, and it will also greatly sustain our digestive system.

    And maybe, just maybe some day we will be told that.... natural estrogen was not even the problem, after all.....Who knows? As you know, there are already some noises in that direction.

  • havehope
    havehope Member Posts: 503
    edited April 2009

    Please take action and protect Organic Standards! 

    Alert Update of the Week:

    HR 875 Update: Will the Real "Monsanto Bill" Please Stand Up?

    News of a "Monsanto Bill to Criminalize Organic Farming" has been speeding around the internet. The Organic Consumers Fund, OCA's lobbying partner in Washington, DC, analyzed the bill and determined that we could not support food safety legislation like this that could be applied in a one-size-fits-all manner to all farms, including organic and farm-to-consumer operations -- especially a bill that references the National Animal Identification System (a voluntary USDA animal tagging program that some influential members of Congress are trying to make mandatory for every owner of even a single farm animal). With these concerns, we put out the following alert: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_17194.cfm

    Nevertheless, we were alarmed by the misleading headlines attached to anti-HR 875 alerts. Even if this bill were passed as is today, it wouldn't criminalize organic farming. The bill would require farms to have a food safety plan, allow their records to be inspected, and comply with food safety regulations. To say this is tantamount to criminalization doesn't give organic farmers enough credit.

    from the Organic Consumers Association.

    This is the letter that is sent to members of the senate and congress if you click on the above link:

    Dear [recipient name was inserted here],

    I am writing in regards to the Food Safety Modernization Act. I agree with

    the Pew Food Safety Initiative, which supports the bill, that:

    "The FSMA contains key improvements that will enable federal authorities

    to better ensure the safety of the food supply by requiring food companies

    to implement preventive plans and meet performance standards for

    contaminants in food; creating a system for certifying the safety of

    imported foods; establishing a strong risk-based inspection regime for

    food companies; and granting the government explicit authority over all

    food-production facilities. The legislation also provides essential

    enforcement tools such as mandatory recall and civil penalties."

    However, I share the concerns of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund

    which opposes the bill because it could be interpreted to impose onerous

    regulations on small farms, especially raw milk producers who are already

    unfairly targeted by state food-safety regulators. The bill should be

    amended to protect local and organic producers from burdensome

    one-size-fits-all legislation. We need a food safety system that is

    scale-appropriate and compatible with organic system plans. Organic and

    local food advocates like the Northeast Organic Farming Association's

    Leafy Greens Working Group and the Community Alliance with Family Farm's

    Family Farm Food Safety Campaign should have a seat at the table whenever

    food safety issues are discussed.

    Hopefully, this bill will enhance the public debate over why the

    industrial food production system is so unsafe. The number one thing we

    could do to increase food safety among large-scale producers is to stop

    the factory farming of animals:

    1. Animals should never be fed blood, manure or slaughterhouse waste.

    2. Cows need to eat grass.

    3. Animals need to be spread out on enough land to absorb their waste.

    The dangers to food safety of factory farms, also known as Confined Animal

    Feeding Operations, are well documented by the Organic Consumers

    Association, the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, the

    Union of Concerned Scientists, and Food & Water Watch.

    Thank you for your attention to the important matter of food safety.

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