Don Maroc
Vancouver Island, Canada
"When a cow is injected with BGH, its milk production is stimulated, but not
directly. The presence of BGH in the cow's blood stimulates production of
another hormone, Insulin-Like Growth Factor - 1, or IGF-1. It is IGF-1 that
stimulates milk production. IGF-1 is a naturally occurring hormone-protein
in both cows and humans.
Some scientists maintain that the use of BGH increases the levels of IGF-1
in cow's milk. IGF-1 is not destroyed by milk pasteurization. Because IGF-1
is active in humans, causing cells to divide, any increased levels of IGF-1
in milk raises the question: will this result in cell division leading to
the growth of cancerous tumors?
Monsanto's position that IGF-1 levels are not elevated contradicts the
companyís own studies. In a published letter, the British researcher T. B.
Mepham reminded Monsanto that in its 1993 application to the British
government for permission to sell BGH, Monsanto itself reported that "the
IGF-1 level went up substantially [about five times as much]."[7] The FDA
acknowledges that IGF-1 is elevated in milk from BGH-treated cows.[8] Other
proponents of BGH acknowledge that it at least doubles the amount of IGF-1
hormone in the milk.[9] The earliest report in this literature found that
IGF-1 was elevated in the milk of BGH-treated cows by a factor of 3.6.[10]
More recent studies have demonstrated that IGF-1, in the presence of the
milk protein, casein, largely survives digestion in the stomach and passes
into the intestine for absorption into the bloodstream.[11] In January,
1998, a Harvard study of 15,000 white men that was published in SCIENCE
magazine reported that those with elevated, but still normal, levels of
IGF-1 in their blood are 4 times as likely as average men to get prostate
cancer.[12] Furthermore, "there are highly suggestive if not persuasive
lines of evidence showing that consumption of this milk increases risks of
breast and colon cancer," says Dr. Samuel Epstein, a scientist from the
University of Illinois.
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