What's in Your Milk?

Britney and I recently had to make a decision on what kind of milk we were going to buy for Bailey. Bailey has recently made the switch from baby formula to whole milk and we're now faced with making a choice about the type of milk she should be drinking.

You may be asking why this is even an issue. I know that when Britney brought it up at the store the other day, I thought she was crazy. Whole milk is whole milk and the store brand is just fine. Wrong. All I had to do was a little digging to find out that what most of us don't know IS hurting us.

The sad fact of the matter is that, unless your milk is clearly labeled as hormone free, it contains Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). This is a hormone that was approved by the FDA in 1993 for use in dairy cows to increase their milk production. This hormone, when injected into the cow, also elevates levels of a powerful growth hormone called IGF-1. Numerous studies have linked elevated IGF-1 with increased cancer rates in humans. The studies aren't conclusive - but that's a risk that I'm not willing to take with my child.

rBGH has also proved to increase the incidence of health problems in treated cows. Mastitis, a painful udder infection, is much more common in injected cows. This is treated using antibiotics - many are the same antibiotics used to treat infections in humans. Studies are also showing that bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics is being passed to humans through dairy products - all because of the use of rBGH.

Finally, rBGH has been proven to increase other health problems in cows. Birth disorders, increased rates of pus in milk (gross), heat stress, hoof problems - all caused by the use of the rBGH hormone. That, to me, sounds like something to avoid.

How serious is this issue? Serious enough for countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and all 25 countries in the European Union to ban the use of rBGH. Unfortunately, our government has opted to allow its use.

What can you do? Well - depending on where you live, you probably have a couple of options. You can buy organic milk which is hormone free by definition. That, however, is going to cost you a pretty penny - about $2.00 more per gallon. Fortunately, in our area, there is a Trader Joe's store. Trader Joe's is one of the few grocery chains that has taken a stand against the use of hormones in their milk and their non-organic milk is rBGH free. That's the option we're taking - as their milk price is only ten cents more per gallon than our store brand.

If you want to read more about this, start HERE - a good report produced by the Physicians for Social Responsibility. Also - keep in mind that ANY dairy product made in the US is likely to contain the hormone (cheese, etc.). If you don't see the 'hormone free' label and/or it's not made in Europe or Canada, rBGH is probably in it.