Tag Archives: cows milk

Recombinant bovine growth hormone in Animals

Recombinant bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH or rBST, is injected into cows to make them produce more milk. This practice, which is known to cause harm to cows and may pose harm to humans, is banned in Canada, Japan, Australia, and all 25 countries of the European Union.

RBGH causes udder infections in cows, which are treated with antibiotics. Increased antibiotic use in food animals is a serious problem because it creates antibiotic resistant bacteria and is strongly linked to human infections that are difficult to treat. Injections of rBGH also increase another hormone, called IGF-1, in the cow and the cow‚ milk. Too much IGF-1 in humans is linked with increased rates of colon, breast, and prostate cancer. While it’s not certain that rBGH given to cows significantly increases IGF-1 in humans, why take the chance? Continue reading