Former American Cancer Society Regional CEO Refuses To Drink Milk, Explains Why

“Got Milk?” While this was the U.S. dairy industry’s slogan for over two decades, former CEO of the Oregon division of the American Cancer Society, Rick North, definitely isn’t having any of it.

Now project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, North says he won’t touch “regular” cow’s milk because it’s full of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), U.S. dairy farmers have been treating their cattle with this artificial hormone to boost milk production, and ultimately profits, since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993.

Despite the fact that rBGH is a genetically engineered artificial hormone originally developed by Monsanto,dairy farmers nationwide are still pumping their cows full of the drug.

Currently, all 50 U.S. states allow dairy cows to be injected with rBGH even though scientists have been warning consumers and farmers about the dangers of rBGH, as also known as recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), for decades.

It’s Banned In Many Other Countries

Many countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Argentina, Israel and the European Union have taken heed and banned the sale of the hormone since 2000. Currently, there are a total of 27 countries are saying “no” to this synthetic hormone.

Even the United Nations’ Codex Alimentarius Commission, an organization that sets international food standards, refuses to approve rBGH as safe.

It’s Harmful To Cows And Humans

Two major research papers show that there is a nearly 25 percent increase in the risk of the cows developing clinical mastitis (that leads to actual “pus” in the milk you drink), which is then treated with antibiotics that lead to a whole other set of health issues.

These cows also suffer from a 40 percent reduction in their ability to reproduce and a 55 percent greater risk of developing lameness, yet many farmers continue to use the hormone.

And for humans who drink rBGH-laced milk, researchers have been warning for years that it leads to higher levels of another hormone called “insulin-like growth factor” that is believed to contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers.

“When the government approved rBGH, it was thought that IGF-1 from milk would be broken down in the human digestive tract,” says North.

Yet, that is not the case. And while North admits, “There’s not 100 percent proof that this [rBGH] is increasing cancer in humans … it’s banned in most industrialized countries.”

Common sense and actual facts say, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck… then it probably is a duck,” or in this case… a cow injected with cancer-causing rBGH.

Where Can I Get rBGH-Free Milk?

The good news is that the public is beginning to speak up and not all farmers are on the Monsanto “gravy-train.”

rBGH-free milk is available, you just have to know where to get it: (here is a list.)

In fact, many people have simply chosen not to drink milk at all, especially since it’s also full of sugar.

And while according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the number of people drinking milk or cream has dropped by 25 percent since 1975, the fact still remains that unless you go out of your way to look for non-rBGH milk or non-GMO food products in general, you have very little control over what you are eating.

sources:
http://nypost.com/2014/02/25/got-milk-slogan-replaced-as-dairy-industry-fights-sales-slump/