Martin Donohoe

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH)
• aka recombinant Bovine
Somatotropin (rBST), brand name
Posilac ©
• 10-15% of U.S. dairy cows injected with rBGH
• Used to increase milk production by cattle

• Marketed primarily to large dairy farms (LDFs), which are supplanting small dairy farms
• LDFs have
– Worse environmental impact records
– Higher rates of workplace injuries
– Contribute to decreasing agricultural diversity

Effects of rBGH on Humans
• Serum IGF-1 levels increase 13% above baseline in individuals drinking milk from rBGH-treated cattle
• IGF-1 interacts with estrogens, androgens, and other growth promoters
• Milk is the food most associated with high IGF-1 levels
• IGF-1 not important in yogurt, since it is used as a food source by some of the bacteria responsible for yogurt production

Risks of rBGH
• IGF-1 is a suspected contributor to breast, prostate and GI cancers
– Promotes cell division and reduces apoptosis (preprogrammed cell death) in animals
– Inhibits the ability of various anti-cancer drugs to kill cultured human breast cancer cells

• Along with pesticides, other endocrine disruptors, and obesity, IGF-1 may be partly responsible for earlier onset of puberty (9.9 yrs in 2006, compared with 10.9 years in 1991)
• Women who eat dairy products deliver twins at five times the rate of vegans

• Children, who have more years of life to live and drink more milk (and more milk per body weight) than adults, are disproportionately affected
• Some evidence suggests rBGH milk being funneled to U.S. children through school lunch programs
– Many school systems have gone rBGH-free

Harmful Effects of rBGH
• FDA: rBGH causes 16 different harmful conditions in cattle, including heat stress, hoof disorders, GI disturbances, birth disorders, ovarian and uterine problems, and mastitis
– Antibiotic treatment of mastitis leads to increased antibiotic resistance in cattle and humans

©
• Originally developed and marketed by Monsanto
• Sold to Elanco, a division of Eli Lilly, in
2008

• Agent Orange, PCBs, dioxins DDT
• Largest producer of genetically-modified seeds
– Contamination events
– Unethical experiments
– Harassment of scientists

• Pesticide Roundup used in “War on
Drugs” in Colombia
• Profitable
• Member of corporate front groups fighting food safety legislation/organizations

• Roger Beachy (long-time president of the
Danforth Plant, Monsanto’s nonprofit arm) now chief of USDA’s National
Institute of Food and Agriculture, overseeing almost $500 million in grants and research funding

• Islam Siddiqui, VP at CropLife America
(US branch of CropLife International, an agribusiness front group led by
Monsanto and others) Obama’s Chief
Agricultural Negotiator for the US Trade
Representative’s Office

• Paid record-setting settlement of $1.42 billion to US Justice Department for illegally marketing Zyprexa to children and elderly for non-FDA approved indications
• Multiple other instances of illegal and unethical marketing

• Manufactures antibiotics used to treat mastitis
• Produces Gemzar (used to treat breast cancer)

• Marketed diethylstilbestrol (DES) for almost 2 decades despite data showing link between
DES exposure in mothers and clear cell vaginal cancers in offspring
– Outlawed for human use in 1971
– Banned for use in cattle in 1979

• Manufactures ractopamine (Paylean), a beta agonist given to livestock for last 7-28 days of life to increase protein synthesis
– OK’d by FDA, but banned in 160 nations
– Can cause hyperactivity and muscle breakdown
– Dangerous for human consumption

• 2009: Elanco paper, commissioned through PR company Porter-Novelli, authors paid by
Elacno
– Loaded with misinformation (see report and OR pSR rebuttal on phsj website)
• Authors admit falsely claiming AMA and AAP endorsements for rBGH, misstate ACS’s neutral position

• OK’d for use by FDA in 1993; on market since 1994
• FDA official (and former Monsanto attorney) Michael Taylor oversaw process
– became Monsanto VP after leaving
FDA; now senior advisor to FDA
Commissioner

• FDA relied on industry summary of internal tests
• GAO investigation:
– Found 3 FDA employees involved in decision had conflicts of interest and multiple ethics rules violations
– Criticized sloppy, manipulative science, lack of data on human health effects

• Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
Japan, and the European Union have banned rBGH
• The Codex Alimentarius, the UN’s main food safety body, has refused to certify rBGH as safe

• APHA
• ANA
• Health Care Without Harm
• AMA President Ron Davis (’07-’08)
• BMJ

• Humane Society
• Animal Protection Institute
• Humane Farming Association
• Farm Sanctuary
• ACS – no formal position (2009); previously supported rBGH

• All fluid milk products in Oregon now rBGH-free
• 55 of the top 100 U.S. dairies are now at least partially rBGH-free or have announced that they will be
• Starbucks’ (company-owned stores),
Chipotle, 160 hospitals nationwide rBGHfree

• Six steroid hormones routinely used in
US beef production: estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, zeranol. melengestrol, trenbolone
• DES (linked to clear cell vaginal and cervical cancers used through 1979, even though banned for humans in 1971

• Since 1988, use of steroids in cattle production illegal in Europe
• US government states hormone residues in beef from adult cattle pose no threat to human health
– Endocrine Society, APHA, others disagree

• Phthalates, bis-phenol A (BPA), pesticides
(persistent organic pollutants)
• Body burden high (EWG)
• Nursing infants at top of food chain

• Breast and prostate cancers
• Thyroid disease
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Endometriosis
• Uterine fibroids
• Infertility

• Earlier onset of breast development and puberty in young girls
• Altered sex ratio (more girls, fewer boys)
• Increasing cryptorchidism
– Risk factor for testicular cancer
• Micropenis, hypospadias increasing

• Positive aspects:
– Community of survivors
– Fund raising
– Research
– Advocacy
– $30 million raised per year through pink ribbon campaigns
• Negative aspects: Pinkwashing

• Outgrowth of the transformation of corporate philanthropy in the 1980s and
1990s to "strategic philanthropy" and
"cause-related marketing“
• No one owns the pink ribbon image or oversees its use

• Pink ribbon packaging can mean donations to breast cancer research
– with or without cap
– with or without use of coupon
– ongoing or time-limited
– or simply to raise awareness of breast cancer

• Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, Komen
Foundation spend up to 25% of money raised on overhead
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month created by
Astra Zeneca (manufacturer of tamoxifen)
– AZ was a leading manufacturer of pesticides until corporate reorganization in 2000

• "Consumption philanthropy" may dampen people's willingness to make direct charitable donations
• Pink ribbon products can be carcinogenic, production may involve labor and even human rights violations

• Cosmetics
– teens use avg. 17 personal care products/d
– adults 12/d
• Yoplait – previously contained rBGH (now rBGH-free)
• Jingle Jugs

• ACS's "Look Good...Feel Better" program provides 30,000 women per year with a free makeover and bag of makeup donated by the
Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Assn
• Cosmetics contain a number of environmental toxins
– See Environmental Working Group website for database of toxins in cosmetics

• Komen Foundation and American Cancer
Society largely ignore environmental contributors to breast cancer
• ACS allocates less than 0.1% of its annual budget to environmental and occupational causes of cancer

• ACS “Excalibur Donors” ($100,000+/yr) include big Pharma and petrochemical, industrial waste, auto, cosmetic, and junk food companies
• 2010: ACS rejects President’s Cancer Panel
Report, “Reducing Environmental Cancer,” which concluded that “the true environmental burden of environmentally-induced cancers has been grossly underestimated”

• Read the fine print when you buy pink
Avoid bottled water - use a refillable stainless steel bottle
• Avoid milk products from rBGH-treated cattle
• Eat organic, free-range beef if you are not vegetarian
• Do not microwave food in plastic containers

• Avoid cooking in non-stick pans and eating foods packaged with non-stick plastic
• Get recommended breast exams, mammograms
• Get angry at corporate malefactors for polluting the environment and food supply
– e.g., GE-NY Presbyterian agreement
• Spread the word

• Campaign for Safe Food, Oregon
Physicians for Social Responsibility: http://www.oregonpsr.org/programs
/campaignSafeFood.html

Public Health and Social Justice
Website http://www.publichealthandsocialjustice.org
http://www.phsj.org
martindonohoe@phsj.org