Milk Controversy Spills into Canada.

AuthorMontague, Peter
PositionRecombinant bovine growth hormone

In late 1993, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave permission for Monsanto corporation to market rBGH, a genetically-engineered hormone that is injected into dairy cows to make them produce more milk.[1] In 1990, FDA had declared rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), "safe for human consumption." [2]

Now the scientific validity of FDA's 1993 safety decision is being challenged by Canadian government scientists. Consumer's Union and other US consumer groups have called for a Congressional investigation into FDA's 1993 decision to approve rBGH.[3]

Today tens of thousands of US dairy cows are injected with rBGH each week, and virtually the entire US citizenry is exposed to milk from rBGH-treated cows through milk, cream, cheese, yogurt, frozen yogurt, buttermilk, cream cheese, ice cream, iced milk, and baked goods. No other country besides the US has approved rBGH for use within its borders, though Monsanto has sought approval in Australia, New Zealand, the European Union and Canada.

In 1990, in Science magazine, FDA published a justification for its conclusion that milk from rBGH-treated cows was "safe for human consumption." [2] Such a public justification of a pending FDA decision is highly unusual, perhaps indicating the politically charged nature of FDA's decision to allow Monsanto to treat many of the nation's milk cows with a genetically-engineered hormone.

FDA's article offered seven tables of data to support its conclusion that rBGH is safe. The first two tables of data were taken from an unpublished Monsanto study of rats fed rBGH in high doses for 90 days. [4]. FDA said the 90-day rat feeding study concluded that, "No oral activity was found when rBGH was administered to rats at exaggerated doses."(2, pg.883)

However, a recently-released Canadian government report indicates that the findings of Monsanto's 90-day rat feeding study were misreported by FDA. [5] The Canadian report says that 20% to 30% of the rats fed rBGH in high doses developed primary antibody responses to rBGH, indicating that rBGH was absorbed into their blood. An antibody response is evidence that the immune system has detected, and responded to, a substance entering the body. Furthermore, cysts reportedly developed on the thyroids of the male rats and some increased infiltration of the prostate gland occurred. Despite these results, FDA reported that there were "no... clinical findings" in the Monsanto rat study. (2, pg.878) The Canadian government...

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