Monsanto Strikes Again

Oh, I'm so all fired up right now I don't even know if I can write a coherent post.

In case any of you haven't heard, here's a little background.  Monsanto is originally a chemical company (they make Round-Up) that now also produces most of the genetically engineered seeds for our food and rBGH (also known as rBST) the artificial bovine growth hormone.  Their business practices are horrific. (I highly recommend this link - this was my first introduction to them two years ago)

Today I've come across an article in the Huffington Post talking about ice cream.  How are the two related you may ask?  Well, ice cream is made with milk, no?

I already avoid milk and butter with rBGH, but it never even occurred to me that other dairy products are made with the same milk, duh!  Thankfully I usually buy Tillamook and Lucerne brands which state directly on the label that they do not use milk from cows treated with rBGH.

So what's the big deal about rBGH?  Well, first off it has been documented as being bad for the cow.  It increases the chances of mastitis (and from a nursing mother standpoint, that's incredibly painful) as well as the cow's overall chances of becoming lame.  I'm not sure why, I just know that this is one of the side effects.  So from an animal health/cruelty standpoint this is not good.

Now, from the human standpoint there is the basic stance of, why would we want to put unknown chemicals into our bodies?  Just to "see what happens"?  I don't know many people who would willing sign up for that.  But studies have also shown a correlation between a by product of rBGH that cows produce called IGF-1 and the chances of humans then developing breast, colon, and prostate cancer.  Cows produce double the amount of IGF-1 when injected with rBGH.  Even slight increases in IFG-1 in women showed up to 7 times the risk of developing breast cancer!

This rBGH chemical is banned in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the entire European Union.  Once again the US is behind the curve (or perhaps being lobbied?) in outlawing a chemical that is simply a profit producer at the expense of our collective health.

Do a simple google search on Monsanto and you will find plenty of sites out there simply bashing on Monsanto.  But dig a little deeper and you will also find things like I've linked above.  Plenty of sound reasons to be skeptical of anything Monsanto claims is for the "good" of humans or the earth.

Some days all I want to do is stick my head in the sand.  (Don't even get me started on the genetically engineered seeds!  Yes, there are benefits, but there are also some major risks!)  It seems like every time I turn around there is another thing to remember to avoid.  Some are easier to remember than others.  This is one that I'll definitely be remembering! 

Non-Toxic Kids has a great post this week on how you can contact the ice cream manufacturers that are still using milk laced with rBGH.

Let's stand up for healthy living!


Ice Creams to avoid currently:

Baskin-Robbins

Breyers - includes:

• Good Humor
• Klondike
• Popsicle

Dreyers - includes:

• Edy's
• Nestle
• Haagen Dazs

Thanks to Stephanie at Metropolitan Mama for getting me started on these links today!