Outlaw Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone Now Essay example -- Argument

Outlaw Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone Now For a moment, amaze yourself in John Elways shoes. Imagine getting paid thousands of dollars to do a milk promotion. Now, would you still do the promotion if you knew the milk had come from a moo-cow injected with hormones? The use of rBGH, Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, has become a concern in the dairy industry. The controversy is over whether or not the hormone is harmful to the awe and people. In animals and humans, there is a growth hormone produced. This protein hormone, produced in the pituitary gland, is fundamental for normal growth, development, and health maintenance. It was discovered sixty years ago that by injecting cows with GH, the growth hormone extracted from cattles pituitary glands, milk production was increased. Using recombinant DNA processes, it became technically possible and economically feasible to produce an abundance of rBGH, which is fundamentally the same as pituitary derived bGH (Rachel. Report...). On November 5, 1993, the United States Food and Drug Administration, FDA, announced rBGH safe for use in milk cows. In February 1994, Monsanto, a chemic company, began selling its version of the drug to dairy farmers. Their form of the drug was to increase milk production by 5% to 20% (Rachel. Hormones...). The Consumers Union, an independent, nonprofit testing and development organization serving only consumers, made claims and presented evidence that byproducts of the hormone treatment are weighable in milk and are not safe for humans or the cow (About...). Today, the Consumers Union wants genetically engineered milk to be labeled so that milk consumers are able to make an informed choice about the milk they are purchasing (Rachel. Ho... ...tp//www.enviroweb.org/issues/biotech/bgh/nogood.html, December 12, 2000. Monsanto. Monsanto.com. online, Available http//www.monsanto.com/, December 13, 2000. Rachel. Hormones in Milk No Right to Know. RACHELS Hazardous Waste News 381. onlin e, Available http//rachel.enviroweb.org/rhwn381.htm, treat 17, 1994. Rachel. Trouble with Milk. Milk. online Available http//www.gn.apc.org/inquirer/milk.html, February 29, 1996. Report on the Food and Drug Administrations limited review of the Safety of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin. Report on the Food and Drug Administrations Review of the Safety of Recombinant BGH. online, Available http//www.biotechknowledge.com/showlib_us.php3?1308, January 21, 1999. Were Starting a Food Fight Ben & Jerrys rBGH. online, Available http//www.benjerry.com/bgh/index.htmlwhat, January 7, 1997.