Milk crossed my mind when I saw a new ad with Salma Hayek with her kid in toe wearing a milk moustache. Obviously the whole point of the ad is getting moms to have their little ones drink more milk – and now daddy’s too – yep I did a double take on this ad. That said milk, as wholesome as it appears, needs some explaining. I was curious to know what the differences between organic, rBGH free (recombinant bovine growth hormone) and conventional milk were so I did some exploring.
Organic milk
Organic milk comes from cows fed on an organic diet with grain and grass. In most cases this means the cows have space to move around and graze on open pasture and the animals are not given hormones, antibiotics and other medications to treat sickness (with some exceptions for illness).
(local organic milk)
rBGH milk
Monsanto, a large corporation, was the first company to develop and market a growth hormone under the name Posilac (Otherwise known as RBGH? You do not make the connection to Posilac and rBGH). The hormone was banned in 2000 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the EU countries and Japan. RBGH-free Milk means the cows are not injected with growth hormones known as recombinant Bovine Growth Hormones -- rBGH. Cows which are injected with rBGH can increase milk production of up to 10% which calculates to about two gallons extra milk per day per cow, and we know what that translates to ... more money for the commercial dairy industry. Cows injected with rBGH experience common side-effects such as mastitis, which is an infection in the mammary glands and is extremely painful for the animals, and the cure is antibiotics. The antibiotics eventually end up in the milk we drink. As any nursing mother if she pays attention to what she puts in her body and you will see it is commonly accepted that most ingested product passes into the milk. It is scary to know large beef producers such as CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) use the artificial hormone to accelerate the growth of their beef to end up on our plates quicker, seasoned with that extra dose of hormones.
(check out the hormone label)
Labeling
The FDA does not require labeling for rBGH-added dairy product and deems it “safe” for consumption. Dairy producers that give milk a rBGH-free label are often hunted by Monsanto’s legal team. They claim all milk contains hormones which is true but there is a difference between natural and synthetic hormones – their powerful attorneys pledge such labels mislead people. RBGH-free milk labels read often as follows:
The food and drug administration has determined there is no significant difference between milk from rBGH treated cows and non-rBGH treated cows”.
That said some cancer research organization don’t agree : www.preventcancer .com,
I’m starting to wonder if we’re like rats in laboratories consuming the artificial hormone added milk while the FDA and Monsanto “wait and see.”
Lately I have been looking at dairy products in a different way and gravitate towards goat’s and sheep’s dairy products since these animals don’t get injected with growth hormones.
(goats milk - no hormones)
Banana/Peanut Butter Shake
(recipe yields one shake about 16 oz)
1 cup milk, organic, rBGH-free (cow, goat or sheep may be used)
1 ripe banana
1 tablespoon agave nectar or one teaspoon of honey may be substituted
1 tablespoon peanuts or use organic peanut butter instead
1 pinch sea salt
1 ½ cups ice, crushed
1. Put all ingredients in a kitchen blender and process for 1-2 minutes.
Chef’s Note: I use a Vita-prep blender, which does a terrific job and gives it an ideal shake texture. Perfect texture is when straw stays upright in the middle without falling over.
