JBeukema
Rookie
- Banned
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Activist Post: rBGH Milk Production: Animal Cruelty, Genetically Modified Hormones and E. ColiWith the current controversy surrounding the government crackdown on wholesome, organic, and locally produced milk, it is important to understand the products we are being pushed toward, as well as those we are being pushed away from. While the benefits of organic and raw milk is largely undeniable when compared to the industrially produced substitute, the dangers of the latter are not discussed quite as frequently. Of these dangers, rBGH is a central figure.
Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (also known as Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin) is a genetically engineered hormone that is injected into cows for the purpose of increasing milk production.[1] It is derived from bovine somatotropin (bST) which is a hormone that is produced naturally in the cattle by the pituitary gland. This hormone is very important for growth and development, as well as other functions of the animal’s body.
Sometime in the 1930s it was discovered that injecting cattle with bST increased milk production. However, because bST is produced in the animal itself, the only source available was in the pituitary glands of the slaughtered cattle. Genetic engineering thus came into play.
>By removing the bovine gene which controls the production of bST and inserting it into a bacterium called Escherichia Coli (E. Coli), scientists and manufacturers are able to reproduce large amounts of bST. This is due to the fact that E. Coli replicates in the human intestinal tract where it is originally found. Essentially, it acts as an industrial unit for the production of bST.
This Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is then injected into the cattle where it replicates causing an increase in milk production.[2] This concept of genetic combination is the foundation for the name “Recombinant” Growth Hormone or Bovine Somatotropin.
As with any GM food, there are very serious health problems associated with the use of rBGH that affect both humans and the animals that are injected with it. Cows who receive the hormone, in addition to the deplorable conditions in which they already find themselves[3], often develop a condition called mastitis, an extremely painful inflammation of the mammary glands.
Of the two forms of mastitis (infectious and non-infectious) non-infectious mastitis accounts for only 1% of the cases in existence and is mainly a result of some kind of injury. The other 99% are a result of infections largely due to bacteria produced by the animals’ living conditions and the rBGH they receive.