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Why is American Milk Banned in Europe?
- American dairy milk is genetically-modified unless it’s
labeled “NO rBGH”
- Genetically-engineered
bovine growth hormone (rBGH) in milk increases cancer risks.
American
dairy farmers inject rBGH to dairy cows to increase milk
production.
European nations and Canada have banned rBGH
to protect citizens from IGF-1 hazards.
Monsanto
Co., the manufacturer of rBGH, has influenced U. S. product safety
laws permitting the sale of unlabeled rBGH milk. (Monsanto would
lose billions of dollars if rBGH were banned in America.)
Q. Is there any milk not contaminated with rBGH and IGF-1?
A. Yes. Milk that is clearly labeled “NO rBGH”
is free of rBGH and does not contain excess levels of IGF-1.
Q. What about cheeses?
A. American-made cheeses are contaminated with rBGH and excess levels
of IGF-1 unless they’re labeled “NO rBGH”. Imported
European cheeses are safe since Europe
has banned rBGH.
Follow the links below for details:
Dangers of IGF-1
in Milk include Breast, Colon and Prostate Cancers
Cancer Risks from
IGF-1. Monsanto’s Hormonal Milk…
Breast Cancer Risks
from rBGH (Press Conference)
Colon and Breast Cancer Risks
from rBGH (Press Conference)
Prostate Cancer Risks from IGF-1
press release
FDA allows rBGH to endanger Milk
United Nations ban on rBGH, Monsanto’s
Genetically Modified Milk…
Scientific
Article on rBGH (1990) “Potential Public Health Hazards of
Biosynthetic Milk Hormones”
Scientific
Article on IGF-1 (1996) “Unlabeled Milk from Cows Treated
with Biosynthetic Growth Hormones”
IGF-1 and
Milk: Q&A
Q. What is IGF-1?
A. Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1)is a normal growth factor.
Excess levels have been increasingly linked by modern research
to human cancer development and growth.
Q. How does IGF-1 get into milk?
A. In 1994, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the
use of the recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). According to
rBGH manufacturers, injections of rBGH causes cows to produce up
to 20 percent more milk. The growth hormone also stimulates the
liver to increase IGF-1 levels in the milk of those cows. Recently,
Eli Lilly & Co., a manufacturer of rBGH, reported a ten-fold
increase in IGF-1 levels in milk of cows receiving the hormone.
IGF-1 is the same in humans and cows, and is not destroyed by pasteurization.
In fact, the pasteurization process actually increases IGF-1 levels
in milk.
Q. How does rBGH milk containing IGF-1, affect, humans?
A. After the rBGH milk is consumed, IGF-1 is not destroyed by human
digestion. Instead, IGF-1 is readily absorbed across the intestinal
wall. Additional research has shown that it can be absorbed into
the bloodstream where it can effect other hormones.
Q. Is IGF-1 likely to increase the risk of specific kinds of cancer?
A. It is highly likely that IGF-1 promotes transformation of normal
breast cells to breast cancers. In addition, IGF-1 maintains the
malignancy of human breast cancer cells, including their invasiveness
and ability to spread to distant organs. (Increased levels of IGF-1
have similarly been associated with colon and prostate cancers.)
The prenatal and infant breast is particularly susceptible to hormonal
influences. Such imprinting by IGF-1 may increase future breast
cancer risks, and may also increase the sensitivity of the breast
to subsequent unrelated risks such as mammography and the carcinogenic
and estrogen-like effects of pesticide residues in food, particularly
in pre-menopausal women.
Q. Are cows adversely affected by elevated IGF-1 levels?
A. Cows injected with rBGH show heavy localization of IGF-1 in
breast (udder) epithelial cells. This does not occur in untreated
cows. Cows are also affected in other ways by rBGH, through increased
rates of mastitis, an udder infection. Industry data show up to
an 80 percent incidence of mastitis in hormone-treated cattle,
resulting in the contamination of milk with significant levels
of pus. Mastitis requires the use of antibiotics to treat, which
leaves residues to pass on through the milk for human consumption.
Q. What does the FDA say about IGF-1?
A. The FDA has trivialized evidence for increased levels in rBGH
milk and insist that any such increases in IGF-1 are not dangerous,
and do not pose a health risk. However, a 1990 study by Monsanto,
the leading maker of rBGH, explicitly revealed statistically significant
evidence of growth promoting effects. Feeding relatively low doses
of IGF-1 to mature rats for only two weeks resulted in statistically
significant and biologically highly significant systemic effects:
increased body weight; increased liver weight; increased bone length;
and decreased epiphyseal width. The FDA has failed to investigate
the effects of long-term feeding of IGF-1 and treated milk on growth.
Furthermore, the FDA has been hostile to the labeling of rBGH milk.
The agency has prohibited dairy producers and retailers from labeling
their milk as "hormone-free," The FDA states that such
labeling could be "false or misleading" under federal
law. Monsanto is suing several milk producers for using the label.
Q. What have other scientists said about IGF-1?
A. Concerns about increased levels of IGF-1 in milk from cows treated
with rBGH are not new. In 1990, the National Institutes of Health
Consensus panel on rBGH expressed concerns about adverse health
effects of IGF-1 in rBGH milk, calling for further study on health
impacts, particularly infants. In 1991, the Council on Scientific
Affairs of the American Medical Association stated:" Further
studies will be required to determine whether the ingestion of
higher than normal concentrations of bovine insulin-like growth
factor is safe for children, adolescents and adults." Unfortunately,
these studies were never done,
HERE
ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO:
1. Do not buy milk from cows treated with rBGH.
Unless the milk-label states “NO rBGH”, you can assume
the milk is contaminated. rBGH has become so widely used by dairy
farmers. Most health food stores sell rBGH-free milk.
2. Contact your local supermarket and find out
if they have a policy regarding rBGH and milk. Make clear that you
would like rBGH-free milk.
3. Write to the FDA and express your concern that
they are restricting the labeling of rBGH-free milk.
References:
Epstein, S. S. Potential public health hazards of biosynthetic milk
hormones. International Journal of Health Services, 20:73-84, 1990.
Epstein,
S. S. Unlabeled milk from cows treated with biosynthetic
growth hormones: A case of regulatory abdication. International
Journal of Health Services, 26(1):173-185, 1996.
CONTACT:
Samuel
S. Epstein, M.D., Chairman
Cancer
Prevention Coalition
2121 West Taylor Street, M/C 922
Chicago,
IL 60612
(312) 996-2297
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