Say no to hormones in your dairy!

BGH is short for Bovine Growth Hormone-- a genetically engineered hormone injected into dairy cattle to increase milk production. This hormone was developed by Monsanto (an evil, evil company). We won't get into the details of Monsanto today, but will save them for a blog all of their own. That's how bad they are.
BGH has been banned in Canada and Europe, but it has been in use here since 1994. It was hastily approved by the FDA without much research to test the safety of the product on humans, the environment or the cattle! First off, since this hormone increases milk production (by 10-15%), it makes the cattle get huge with milk. This can lead to mastitis-- many of your breastfeeding mamas may have experienced this yourself. It is inflammation of the breasts caused by blocked milk ducts or excess milk. It causes engorgement, is VERY painful, and can lead to an infection. Not much fun for us, or for cows. But, when cows have mastitis, it is not so good for the milk either..... infected breasts can lead to puss in the milk (ewww.) and create a need for antibiotic for the cow. Antibiotics given to the cow will end up in the cow's milk, which your baby then drinks. This can lead to antibiotic resistance in your child over time! Also, some of the antibiotics leach out with the cow's urine, get into our streams and rivers, affect aquatic life, and eventually end up back in humans through our food and drinking water supply. So, antibiotics for livestock = no good for people.
As for the effects of drinking milk from cows given BGH: this milk has increased levels of IGF-1, which is a hormone that regulates cell production and causes cells to divide, particularly in children. The use of this hormone in cattle has been linked to cancer in humans. Scary that it is sitting on almost every grocery store shelf in America.
What to do? Food laws prohibit the labeling of genetically altered foods (cows injected with BGH included), so dairy products from BGH treated cows will NOT be labeled as such. However, many dairy products are labeled as coming from cows NOT treated with BGH (aka rBGH). Look for BGH-free dairy products at your local grocery store. Trader Joe's has clearly-labeled BGJ-free dairy, as will any health store. Also, products labeled as organic can not contain genetically modified foods, so organic dairy products are A-OK as well. And remember that this doesn't affect just milk, but also cheese, yogurt, infant formula, any other cow dairy products and some beef. So buy BGH-free or organic whenever possible. (Also- imported european cheese are safe as BGH is prohibited there!).
Additionally, look for alternatives to cow's milk, like sheep or goat. We give our son goat milk. It is not only healthier and easier to digest, but it is the closest to human milk. Check out this website:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/136851/compare_the_health_benefits_of_goat.html
Furthermore, goats are less of a strain on the environment- they take up less space and don't produce methane (because of their specialized digestive system, that works without oxygen, cows do produce methane which contributes to global warming). So, go goat!