American Milk Consumers Being Deceived by Mislabelling

by: RussellEaton
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Word Count: 466

Milk consumers in the United States should note that most regular pasteurized milk comes from cows that have been given synthetic growth hormones, known confusingly under three different names: rBST, rBGH, and Posilac. They all refer to exactly the same thing: synthetic growth hormones that are injected into cows to make them produce more milk than they normally would.

Some studies show that synthetic growth hormones in milk can increase the risk of cancer in human milk consumers. This is why synthetic growth hormones for cows are banned in most countries (although not in the United States where the synthetic growth hormones are manufactured).

When you buy regular pasteurized milk in the United States the label gives no indication that the milk contains synthetic growth hormones, yet more than 95% of all pasteurized milk sold in regular stores and supermarkets contain these harmful hormones.

Many American consumers are increasingly concerned about synthetic hormones and as a result some companies (such as Starbucks and Wal-Mart) are changing to milk that is free of synthetic growth hormones.

How does deceptive labelling fit into this?

When milk suppliers provide milk that is said to be free of synthetic growth hormones they are labelling the milk as being "hormone free". This is totally misleading because no milk is "hormone free". All kinds of milk without exception contain bovine growth hormones known as IGF-1. These bovine hormones are known to produce cancer in humans as evidenced by exhaustive research over the years.

With regard to milk labelling, organic milk producers are the biggest culprits. A major selling point for U.S. organic milk is that it does not have synthetic growth hormones. Organic milk labels invariably state: "hormone, antibiotics and pesticide-free." But this is wholly misleading because no kind of dairy milk can be hormone free.

So if milk is labelled "hormone free" it is not only deceptive but factually incorrect. Such labelling implies the milk has no growth hormones, and this is simply not so. Instead of labelling the milk "hormone free", it could be labelled "rBST free", "rBGH free", "free of artificial growth hormones", or even "free of synthetic growth hormones".

All dairy milk without exception then contains harmful bovine growth hormones. On top of this, nearly all American milk also contains harmful synthetic growth hormones. This is why it is no exaggeration to say that it is deceptive to label any kind of milk as being "hormone free".

But there is one big exception: plant-based milk contains no harmful hormones. Non-dairy milk made from nuts, seeds, rice, and soybeans is completely free of harmful hormones. Best of all, non-dairy milk is absolutely delicious and super-nutritious. For a free ebook on how to make fabulous nut & seed milk please see below.

About the Author

Save time and money. Get a free nut and seed ebook that shows exactly how to make your own delicious milk in just minutes. See also www.about-milk.info.  

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