It's the Little Things
Published by Beth on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 4:42 PMI just returned from Kroger, where I happened to find organic, hormone- and antibiotic-free milk, for 2 dollars. And this wasn't the little single serving carton size, this was a whole gallon. So I will be drinking a whole lot of milk in the next 6 days. (I do plan on freezing some for baking and cooking.)
On a side note, I've heard that the above-mentioned variety of milk is much better for you than the regular kind, but my husband made a good point: Straight from the cow milk would have hormones as well, since the cow produces them naturally in order to lactate. So my question is, what is the big deal about cow's milk being "hormone-free"? Is it because they are artificial and worse for you than natural hormones (I'm not sure if that's true or not) or is being hormone-free a claim that organic companies make in order to sell more milk?
This isn't enough to stop me from buying it from time to time. I'm just curious.
Cows in dairy farms are pumped full of unnatural synthetic hormones CONSTANTLY. Who makes milk? Think about humans. The only people who make milk on a regular basis are those moms who have just had a baby and are lactating.
Same with cows. So, to make cows produce milk, they give them synthetic hormones to keep the cow producing milk LONG PAST the time they would have stopped naturally.
In a sense, cows in dairy farms are breastfeeding for life.
And, as with a nursing mom, even tylenol and "harmeless" drugs make it into the milk and are passed on to the baby. So it is with cows.
Those shots of synthetic (FAKE) hormones make it into the milk supply and we drink it.
Not so bad if you only drink a little. But over time, the more milk you drink and dairy products you eat----well, you are exposed to more and more synthetic hormones. And, this my friend, is why little girls are now going thru puberty at age 7 and 8 and are developing oh-so-much quicker. This is why breast cancer and other hormone-driven cancers are on the rise.
Think I'm an alarmist? Do some research yourself on BOTH sides. Trust me, there is something that is causing cancers and disease at rates we've never seen before. I personally have done research and believe we are "eating ourselves to death" in a sense.
Oh, and the hormone argument applies to meat as well. How do chickens produce eggs in mass quantity for egg farms? Shots of hormones!
How does chicken/beef/etc stay healthy enough to make it to slaughter? Shots of antibiotics!
If you eat commercially grown food, from milk to meat, you will reap the consequences. Stick to local if you can, and if you cannot, buy national brands that are organic, no hormones & antibiotics added.
Yes, it is more expensive but it is worth its weight in gold when you don't die of cancer at 45.
I'm glad to know it's the synthetic hormones in milk we should be worried about. I wish I could afford to buy organic milk all the time! Organic meats are out of my price range as well, but I do buy free-range eggs all the time. They're so yummy! :-)