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by Ryan Rastegar, Green Corps and Laurel Hopwood, NEO Human Health & Environment
Chair
The School Milk Campaign wants Congress to make the smart choice for
school lunches: Milk that is free of artificial growth hormones.
The Federal Nutrition Program is a major provider of milk to our
nation’s school cafeterias. Unfortunately, a significant amount
of this milk comes from cows injected with rBGH - the genetically engineered
bovine growth hormone. This artificial hormone was manufactured by Monsanto
in order to “rev up” milk production. That may sound good
until one learns what it’s also reving up. Veterinarians have written
that it acts like crack cocaine in cows, which experience painful
walking and mastitis (udder infections).
This artificial hormone stimulates the growth of IGF-1, which then
gets passed along in the milk that we consume. Increased levels
of IGF-1 are linked with increased risk of breast and prostate
cancer. Codex Alimentarius,
the United Nations main food safety body, twice decided that it
could not endorse the safety of rBGH for human health.
It doesn’t have to be this way. There’s a movement to put
an addition into the Child Nutrition Act that would explicitly give public
schools the choice to purchase hormone-free milk.
Please help by signing
this petition:
http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/5915/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1796&track=mcle
Green Corp worker, Ryan Rastegar, is working with the Lakewood
School District to choose rBGH-free milk. Please contact Ryan
at ryan@greencorps.org or (216) 539-9733 to add your voice.
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