Production and Processing of Non-Natural, Non-Organic Milk and rBGH

In addition to the issues of pasteurization and homogenization, a third and more troublesome issue involved involves a hormone called rBGH that is often used in non-organic milk production. rBGH stands for "recombinant bovine growth hormone." You'll also see this hormone called rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin). About one third of all dairy cows in the U.S. are injected with rBGH, and the Monsanto company in St. Louis, Missouri makes all of the rBGH produced in the United States, under the brand name Posilac.

Many of the controversies surrounding milk consumption would be eliminated if milk were only consumed in certified organic form and if milk production and processing were kept strictly natural since rBGH is not allowed in the production of organic milk.

Milk Production, rBGH, and IGF-1

The reason that rGBH is used in dairy cows is simple - rBGH increases the duration of lactation in the cows and ups the total volume of milk they produce by about 10%.

The mechanism by which rBGH increases milk production has become more and more clear through research efforts over the past ten years. rBGH works by increasing the presence of a second hormone, called Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), in the body of the cow.

This mechanism is one of the key reasons for opposition to the use of rBGH in dairy cows, because elevated blood levels of IGF-1 are dramatically related to risk of cancer. In premenopausal women younger than 51 years of age, high levels of IGF-1 have been associated with a 7-fold increase in the risk of breast cancer. In similarly aged men, high IGF-1 levels have been associated with a 4-fold increase in the risk of prostate cancer. And in May 2006, a further study linked high IGF-1 levels to increased numbers of twin births. Women who drank one daily glass of milk obtained from rBGH-injected cows had 10% higher levels of IGF-1 than women who did not consume the milk.

The role of IGF-1 in breast cancer risk is also corroborated by research on a breast cancer treatment and prevention drug called tamoxifen. Tamoxifen's ability to lower risk of breast cancer is partly related to its ability to lower IGF-1 levels.

International Bans on rBGH Use In Dairy Production

All 25 countries in the European Union, as well as Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand prohibit the use of rBGH in dairy production. In Germany, many veterinarians have refused to inject rBGH into cows as a violation of their code of ethics.

In the United States, no such ban has occurred, and Monsanto, the maker of rBGH (Posilac), has gone to court to try and influence product label claims about rBGH use. This legal step taken by Monsanto in 2003 targeted a small company in Portland, Maine called Oakhurst Dairy. This small, organic dairy was labeling all of its products with the claim, "No Artificial Growth Hormones." Monsanto argued that this labeling claim was deceptive, not because Oakhurst Dairy actually used any artificial growth hormones, but because the label implied that artificial growth hormones were unhealthy or unsafe. The case was never argued in court because Oakhurst decided to add another statement on all of its dairy product labels: "FDA States: No significant difference in milk from cows treated with artificial growth hormone."

The research evidence regarding rBGH, IGF-1, and cancer risk seems compelling enough for us to recommend avoidance of dairy products produced with the use of rBGH. Since the Monsanto-Oakhurst litigation, we realize that several companies producing non-organic dairy products have begun to label their dairy products as rBGH-free. We are glad to see this trend, and hope that it continues. But we have also seen a trend for some companies producing rBGH-derived milk to shy away from the entire rBGH controversy.

For this reason, we believe that certified organic dairy products are still a person's best bet when it comes to avoiding products coming from rBGH-injected cows. Not only is the use of rBGH prohibited when it comes to the production of organic milk and milk products, but these organic dairy products reduce our exposure to a host of other potentially toxic substances and they share a more optimal nutritional profile as well.

The articles below will provide you with more in-depth information about the controversies surrounding cow's milk:

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