This is the second part in my series on Monsanto. Trust me, it gets better and better.
The first time I ever heard of Monsanto was sometime around 2000”ish” when I learned of their rBGH and rBST synthetic hormones being used in factory-farming cows to get more milk production out of them. I was shocked that the FDA would allow, even encourage, its use.
From Monsanto’s website:
If there were one word to explain what Monsanto is about, it would have to be farmers.
Billions of people depend upon what farmers do. And so will billions more. In the next few decades, farmers will have to grow as much food as they have in the past 10,000 years – combined.
It is our purpose to work alongside farmers to do exactly that.
To produce more food.
To produce more with less, conserving resources like soil and water.
And to improve lives.
We do this by selling seeds, traits developed through biotechnology, and crop protection chemicals.
BGH is genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone that is injected into lactating cows that they will produce more milk. Any woman who has breastfed a baby knows the sheer discomfort and pain involved with engorged breasts over-filled with milk. Nice, huh? I’m sure we won’t feel the karmic consequences of treating our food sources so poorly (that was sarcasm people).
Monsanto was the first to develop the recombinant DNA technology to create the hormone and market it as “Posilac” (the brand is now under the Eli Lilly and Company umbrella). Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and all EU countries have banned milk for human consumption if the bovine were treated with Posilac. The U.S. is the only developed country to permit humans to drink milk from cows given the artificial growth hormone. The EU goes a step further and does not allow the import of any meat or dairy products from the U.S.
In the fall of 2010 a U.S. court of appeal found, through studies presented, that rBST milk has increased levels of the hormone IGF-1, lower nutritional quality when produced at certain points in a cow’s lactation cycle and more pus in the milk. Yummy!
IGF (insulin-like growth factors) is the hormone which increases growth and milk production in dairy cows in response to growth hormone injections. IGF plays a known role in the formation of new tumors. Studies further reveal
“The role of IGFs in cancer is supported by epidemiologic studies, which have found that high levels of circulating IGF-I and low levels of IGFBP-3 are associated with increased risk of several common cancers, including those of the prostate, breast, colorectum, and lung.”
Because IGF-1 is not removed in the pasteurization process, drinking milk from rBST treated dairy cows increases one’s daily intake of IGF-1. Google it. Many, many studies have been submitted showing the role that IGF-1 plays in the cancer process.
Now, let’s take this one step further. rBST effects bovine health with an average 25% increase in mastitis, injection site reaction and even foot problems (per the EU study). There is a 55% increased risk of bovine developing signs of lameness. When the cows become ill, they are treated with antibiotics. Our bodies are then subject to building up tolerances to certain pharmaceutical grade antibodies when we drink milk from cows treated with antibiotics (please note that antibiotic therapy is in rampant use for all factory-farming, not just rBST-injected animals).
According to the FDA (2007 numbers) approximately 17% of all dairy cows in the U.S. are treated with rBST. Places like Walmart and Costco (detrimental in their own way to our society) no longer sell milk with rBST or rBGH.
When certain dairy producers began labeling their milk as rBST and rBGH-free Monsanto had a tizzy. They have been responding to the trend of growth hormone-free labeling by lobbying state governments to ban the practice because even the FDA says “there is no significant difference in milk from cows treated with artificial growth hormones.”
Advertising to the public that their cows are not shot up with fake hormones is apparently a kick in the balls for Monsanto’s multi-billion dollar business. They make up for it by suing people, and smaller companies, who can’t afford the suits and eventually have to fold or cave to Monsanto’s ridiculous demands.
For more information, please go here (or Google the hell out of Monsanto, FDA and rBST).
More to come on the poisoning of the world…
Thank u for posting this series. Its time people learn about this kind of thing. Ive learned alot just in the past 2 posts. Keep up the good wrk!
Nicely done, Liz. My sister works for a formerly all-organic farm co-op in the upper New York state area. I had run across the Wikipedia entry on Monsanto; after several minutes of horrified, yet fascinated reading, I decided on impulse to call her and ask her on her perspective, since she probably had industry knowledge of some of Monsanto’s business practices.
I was a little out of date on this; her company was no longer exclusively organic, they now had significant dealings with Monsanto and Cargill (another major player in the farming industry), and she was strongly discouraged from discussing any of the moral/ethical aspects of their “partners”. Something about keeping her job. Her only comment when I mentioned the Wikipedia article was to tell me, “…you can’t rely on Wikipedia for your information- they’re biased.” I didn’t bother after that to mention the 6+ other articles on other websites; I am sure they are biased too (insert “have an opinion counter to Monsanto”) Big sigh…
Keep those articles coming, Liz- they are getting better all the time. Perhaps if we have enough of them, people will stumble off the corporate treadmill long enough to hit the power switch.
Liz, I have to say, this writing is what we had envisioned when we first put this beast together! I can’t tell you how infuriated I am with Monsanto as a result of your article and how happy I am to see such great content here on this site that started out as , “just an idea.” It’s coming full circle and this article is just another example of that. I can’t wait to read the next installment.