As Americans we
tend to get wrapped up in campaigns. Not only the fancy words of our
political figures catch our eyes though. We are also subject to our
idols campaigning for product lines or certain causes. The dairy industry
has done quite well with their "Got Milk" slogan. And as we
succumb to the beautiful models or sports heroes that take the dairy
industries money, very few of us know the truth behind the milky mustache.
That mustache in the photographs is a mixture of various products including
glue. Drinking milk will give you a slightly different mustache…but
you might as well drink the glue anyway.
Consumption of this
well marketed item has continued to rise as well as the statistics on
individuals with colon cancers, breast cancers, ear/sinus infections,
heart disease and resistance to antibiotics. Best of all, milk is
actually a poor source of calcium. It is interesting to note that
the United States ranks as one of the top ten countries in the world
in drinking pasteurized milk and is in the top ten as well for calcium
deficiency related diseases. Countries that thrive on their dairy production,
Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Holland, all rank high in Osteoporosis.
The average American will consume from a combined total of milk,
cheese, butter and other dairy products 161mgs. of cholesterol a day:
the same amount as fifty-three slices of bacon.
Drinking milk in
its natural state isn't always detrimental. That is, in its natural
source, from a certified organic dairy, containing an abundance of vitamins,
minerals, fatty acids and other nutrients. Yet the pasteurized milk
and all of its bacteria is what the public is purchasing. Commercial
milk is pasteurized, homogenized and contains synthetic ingredients
and growth hormones.
Pasteurization
is the process of heating milk to 150-170 degrees Fahrenheit for thirty
minutes to try to kill bacteria and to reduce chances of infectious
diseases. However, it needs to reach 190 degrees to destroy b-coli,
typhoid and tuberculosis. It doesn't kill streptococcus or salmonella
in many cases. What it does destroy is the lactobacillus acidophilus
that nature provides to keep harmful bacteria in check.
Thus the inherent
germicidal control is lost and soon the product contains more bacteria
than when left raw.
Pasteurization also destroys a large quantity of vitamins, minerals
and enzymes of milk. Vitamins alone are lost when temperatures reach
150 degrees. Over two-thirds of vitamins A, B, C and E are lost and
a synthetic form of vitamin D is added to "fortify" the commercial
product. Heat causes the mineral to form ionic bonds, leaving no bioavailable
nutrients. Enzymes killed by pasteurization are the very ones needed
to assimilate calcium properly. For those worried about getting enough
calcium and trying to acquire it from milk…milk alkalizes the stomach.
Calcium can only be absorbed in an acidic medium.
Homogenization
is another harmful process carried out for our aesthetic pleasure. Homogenization
keeps the cream from separating from the milk. Unfortunately, beauty
isn't always worth the price. Homogenization is at the core of coronary
heart disease.
Xanthine Oxidase
(XO) is naturally contained in milk fat. It digests with the fat
of milk that has not been through the homogenization process to break
it into smaller and useful molecules for human nutrition. Homogenization
allows XO to pass, intact, through intestinal walls and into the bloodstream
where it attacks tissues along arterial walls or the heart muscle directly.
Trying to get harmful ingredients out or giving it a more pleasant appearance
isn't all that the public has to worry about when purchasing milk. What
the Food and Drug Administration has approved that we add to it can
be just as detrimental.
Due to growth in
the dairy industry during 1986-1987, many farmers were forced by the
government to kill of their cattle and to stop dairy farming for five
years. Approximately 14,000 farmers participated and slaughtered a total
of 1.55 million milk cows. Even with this backlash, farmers were still
stressed to produce as much milk as possible. In their fervor they were
approached by a company with a product that hadn't yet been approved
by the FDA to increase the output from the cows. Monsanto produced this
product and labeled it under the name Posilac. This is the same
company that brought us Agent Orange and PCBs (congress banned
this chemical in 1976). Posilac increased in popularity and is still
injected into our dairy supply. Now it is simply known as the Bovine
Growth Hormone (rBGH).
As the cows are
forced to produce more milk, their bodies are more susceptible to an
infection called mastitis. This is an udder condition that causes an
increase of pus in the milk sold to consumers. Monsanto admits its product
causes a 79% increase in mastitis and 19% increase of somatic cell
counts (pus and bacteria). Labeling for Posilac stated, "Cows
injected with Posilac are at an increased risk for clinical mastitis
(visibly abnormal milk). The number of cows affected with clinical mastitis
and the number of cases per cow may increase…in some herds, use
of Posilac has been associated with increases in somatic cell counts."
By concluding that the drug was a "manageable risk," the FDA
contradicted its own veterinary guidelines, which clearly state that
over-the-counter drugs must have no observable adverse effects at five
times the expected dosage. Monsanto couldn't even show a one-fold margin
of safety. Maybe having the same lawyers as the FDA proved beneficial
to advance this drug.
Treating the mastitis
with antibiotics and still gathering milk from medicated cows leads
to another concern. Only 4 out of a possible 82 commercially used antibiotics
are tested for in the tankers. The remaining antibiotics end up in our
milk. The Wall Street Journal did a study of the antibiotic content
present in milk on the market and discovered that 20% of the milk had
illegal antibiotics in it. Consumer Reports later confirmed this number
in May of 1992. Monsanto tried to assure the public that little else
than penicillin was being used, yet the cows had developed immunity
to conventional treatment. A 1988 survey in Illinois discovered that
out of 200 different drugs found at dairy farms, 58% were not approved
for use on our dairy cows. The Centers for Disease Control call antibiotic
resistance a "major public health crisis." Later a Congressional
committee found "the emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria
liked to the use of antibiotics on dairy cows…could increase the
risk of human infection."
With rBGH present
in the cows' bloodstream there is a stimulation of another hormone called
Insulin-Like Growth Factor, or IGF-1. This is a naturally occurring
hormone in the milk of cows and humans alike: the only hormone in nature
that occurs between two species identically and the actual hormone that
increases the milk production.
When drinking a
twelve-ounce glass of milk, you double the amount of IGF-1 in your body.
It is known to promote cell division, a process usually triggered and
completed by a series of hormonal signals ruled by genetics. Yet, when
this ceasing does not occur, then the cells begin to grow out of control.
Since Cancer is an uncontrolled cell division, this factor is associated
with breast, prostate and colon cancers.
When humans,
who are beyond the infant stage consume cow's milk, it acts as a cancer
catalyst. IGF-1 is not destroyed by pasteurization. The American
Medical Association and the National Institutes of Health are concerned
with this because due to the IGF-1 being shielded by casein, 80% of
the protein in milk, IGF-1 would also survive the digestion process.
Casein is also the glue used to hold beer labels on or to keep your
furniture from falling apart.
The heat that alters
the fats/lipids in milk during homogenization can lead to other autoimmune
disorders as well as cancer. Abnormal lipids are a part of the caner
process. These fats degenerate into unrecognizable forms, abnormal reactions
take place and inevitable tumors or cellular replications occur.
The FDA has lost
much of its support through public concern over many of its actions.
The rBGH campaign only strengthened the public's view. Dr. Richard Burroughs
was a staff member in the FDA's veterinary department when rBGH was
introduced. Being the senior scientist he was overseeing the analysis
of the industry-sponsored tests. When he expressed his concerns on the
case, he was dismissed.
The farmers are
losing their patience with the National Dairy Board, who along with
corporate agribusiness spent $1.1 million in 1990 to increase popularity
of rBGH and to cover-up any faults. The only beneficiaries of rBGH will
be the four who invested in the development and production of it: Monsanto,
Eli Lilly, Upjohn and American Cyanamid. The National Farm Coalition
predicted that due to the genetically engineered hormone, each farm
would lose $10,000-$30,000 income in cattle, illness and in the war
to produce more. Small to mid-sized family farms have backed anti-rBGH
campaigns as they have watched 10 to 30,000 small dairy farms go out
of business and seen friends consumed by the politics behind their oppressors.
Eliminating dairy
from the diet has aided many with disorders ranging from acne to
Crohn's to Cancer. Robert Cohen, founder of the "Not Milk"
revolution, remarks that eliminating dairy for one week will result
in a loss of one gallon of mucous from the body. Hormones will normalize
and associated ailments will cease. Mood swings improve. pH will balance.
He has found good news in the lactose-intolerant generation for at least
these individuals are knowledgeable that dairy has done them harm.
This is a case that
can be won. There are alternatives for the public to turn to. Nuts,
seeds and soy are all excellent sources for a dairy substitute. After
a fifty-year study, Taiwan reported absolutely no adverse side effects
from utilizing the benefits of soymilk.
If we grow to support the farmers who stand for what we believe to be
morally better for our environment and ourselves then we have won the
first battle. Our bodies are our best tools in life and our minds are
our greatest weapon when we are faced with decisions concerning our
health. The process of making a meal for ourselves doesn't have to include
making our bodies a war zone for bacteria and hormones.
This isn't just
a fight for food safety: it is a fight for our lives.
