Got Artificial Growth Hormones?
Last month, Monsanto sold off its division that manufactures the artificial growth hormone, rBST, to Eli Lilly. This sale comes just a few months after an announcement from Wal-Mart that their own private label milk will no longer come from cows who have been given artificial growth hormones. The hormones are given to cows because they increase milk production, and are legal in the U.S. But consumer pressure has convinced Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger, and Starbucks to offer milk from rBST-free cows.
Eli Lilly acknowledges that their newly-acquired venture comes with some baggage, but most of the controversy centers around human health concerns. If a vegan diet protects one from the some of the unknown risks of new frontiers in biochemistry, that's just a fringe benefit. Instead of demanding hormone-free milk, how about going vegan and demanding that cows are no longer abused and slaughtered for human consumption?
I agree. While hormone-free milk (or at least that one particular hormone) may be better for people, it still contains animal protein, which “The China Study” has found can trigger cancer.
I appreciate your last sentence.