Ice Cream Giants criticized for using Monsanto-influenced dairy products

As large companies like Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, Dannon, and Yoplait join the ranks of companies that have pledged to stop using dairy products that contain Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), industry experts point out that many well-known companies like Baskin-Robbins, Haagen-Dazs, and Breyers continue to use products from dairies that inject their cows with the bovine-growth hormone.

The genetically –engineered hormone was developed and marketed by Monsanto, a company that has been widely criticized for its manipulation of various food products and policies. The company has claimed that the milk that comes from cows that have been injected with rBGH is no different from milk obtained from hormone-free animals, but many have questioned the company’s claims.

In fact, a recent study shows that milk from cows injected with rBGH may contain twice the amount of IGF-1, a substance linked to prostate, colon, and breast cancer in humans. Medical journals like The Lancet have reported as early as May of 1998 that increased levels of IGF-1 can raise the likelihood of developing breast cancer in pre-menopausal women significantly. The study further went on to show that even slightly elevated levels of IGF-1 in some women may make them seven-times more likely to develop cancer.

Despite the fact that Monsanto’s efforts to push the use of rBGH in Canada were rebuffed after an eight-year study of the hormone and its effects, the company still exerts a powerful influence on products bought and sold in the United States. As awareness of the effects of rBGH and other Monsanto products has spread, groups like the American Public Health Association and Physicians for Social Responsibility (Oregon chapter) have begun to campaign for companies to discontinue the use of rBGH.

For more information on Monsanto, products, and lawsuits against the company, visit the NHL website of Williams Kherkher today.