Health
A recent article in the New York Times disclosed that the F.D.A. has questioned the illegal levels of antibiotics in commercial milk, while the dairy industry refuses to allow testing. Reporter William Newman wrote that despite the Food and Drug Administrations intention to begin testing for antibiotics in milk, sometime this month, the dairy industry claims that testing “could force farmers to needlessly dump millions of gallons of milk while they waited for test results.”
Naturally, the F.D.A. granted the industry a reprieve while a faster testing method could be developed; but all is not well on the U.S. milk front. Traces of antibiotics have been showing up in the nation’s milk supply for some time now and when the F.D.A. becomes alarmed, it must be pretty bad indeed. Surprisingly, what Neuman failed to mention was that it was because farmers accepted Monsanto’s offer to increase milk yields in their cows by injecting Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) that led to higher levels of antibiotics being used.
Europe and Canada were intelligent enough to ban the use of rBGH because of concerns over human health and animal welfare. In American dairies the average lifespan of a dairy cow has decreased from a natural lifespan of 25 years to a mere 5 years, and those years are spent in a constant cycle of providing milk from painfully engorged udders. The pus from a cow developing mastitis ends up in the milk, which required raising the levels of antibiotics......Continue reading
Naturally, the F.D.A. granted the industry a reprieve while a faster testing method could be developed; but all is not well on the U.S. milk front. Traces of antibiotics have been showing up in the nation’s milk supply for some time now and when the F.D.A. becomes alarmed, it must be pretty bad indeed. Surprisingly, what Neuman failed to mention was that it was because farmers accepted Monsanto’s offer to increase milk yields in their cows by injecting Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) that led to higher levels of antibiotics being used.
Europe and Canada were intelligent enough to ban the use of rBGH because of concerns over human health and animal welfare. In American dairies the average lifespan of a dairy cow has decreased from a natural lifespan of 25 years to a mere 5 years, and those years are spent in a constant cycle of providing milk from painfully engorged udders. The pus from a cow developing mastitis ends up in the milk, which required raising the levels of antibiotics......Continue reading
No comments:
Post a Comment