Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone

Recombinant Bovine Growth hormone

Bovine Somatotropin is a naturally produced hormone by cows that aids them in milk production in made in their pituitary glands. This naturally occurring hormone can be chemically reproduced in a lab through the use of Recombinant DNA technology. Monasanto corporation produces this product known as Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone under the name Posilic, for retail to dairy farmers who use it to increase the production of milk in dairy cows. It is given to dairy cows through a needle injection. However with the production of Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone comes the inevitable controversy of its health risks for both Humans and Animals that ingest it. The benefit of the use of this hormone is a significant increase milk production of anywhere between 11% to 16 % increase in milk. Nonetheless it has also been found that “a nearly 25% increase in the risk of clinical mastitis, a 40% reduction in fertility and 55% increased risk of developing clinical signs of lameness” can be attributed to the use of this hormone in dairy cows. This has captured the attention of animal rights activists who believe that animals should not be genetically modified for greater production by while decreasing their quality of life. It is important to note that the sale of Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone has been banned in Canada due to inherent health risks to animals and possible effects on humans. Another controversy that arises with Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone is the future effects that it may have on human consumers of this product. Several interest groups have expressed concern about the effects of BST and a by product known as insulin-like growth factor -1. The Company Monsanto believes that since Insulin growth factor -1 is chemically similar to that of the IGF -1 produced in humans and therefore presents no threat to those who consume it. However several interest groups have complained that the levels of IGF -1 consumed via dairy intake are far more higher than those produced naturally by the body. Also that further testing is needed to determine future health risks to consumers of this product. Other opponents to the use of Bovine growth hormone use have stated that BGH has a different amino acid chain that can affect how it will work with complicated immune system of humans. One more controversy that has presented itself is whether or not Companies should be able to stake a claim to these specific genetic materials such as BGH. One side of the argument is that these genes or product of genes are in part naturally occurring and therefore should not be able to be patented by large corporations, especially since they may in fact be of use for health research and cures. On the other side of the argument, Companies like Monsanto and the DuPont Company believe that the amount of money, time and research that is put into the production and modification of these products should allow them to patent them and allow companies to own the rights to these advancements.

The Approval and Sale of Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone by the FDA and Monsanto began in early 1994. Since then this product has had different effects farmers, for example Large Corporate farms have marked a significant increase in milk production with a relatively low profit loss due to health risks of the animals. This is because these companies can afford to spend a portion of their profits on the necessary antibiotics and other necessities in dealing with the side effects of Posilic. On the reverse side Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone has had a detrimental affect on the small family dairy farmer. One specific example is that of Dick Bengan a small dairy farmer who used BGH and found that he fell far short of his predicted quota. One specific example is that “He got only six extra pounds of milk daily, and need nine pounds to break even.” This coupled lack of production with the use of BGH coupled with the increase of medical extras and an increase in feed to keep up with the animals on Bovine Growth Hormone put Bengan in the red, and in risk of losing his farm, which appears to be a common theme among small family dairy farms. This is just one example of the detrimental effects that Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone has had on the small dairy farmer: In the late 90’s the FDA and Monsanto opened a Hotline to farmers to voice any complaints that dealt with the Bovine Growth Hormone, and an overwhelming number of dairy farmers called with complaints. When checked by a local Florida dairy farmer to see if his complain had reached the FDA, he found that only two dairy farmer’s in Florida had filed complaints that reached the FDA and neither of them where from his county. This raises the question of how many of these complaints had gone been raised to the hotline and not forwarded to the FDA.

Looking at the Health effects and longevity of the Cows in dairy farms that use Bovine Growth Hormone a common pattern of mastitis and other persistent health problems are seen. Large Corporate dairy farms (300-5,000+) are generally excluded from these problems due to the shortness of the cows life, a dairy cow at a large corporate farm usually only sees one to two lactation cycles before being butchered. However the detrimental effects of the Bovine Growth Hormone can be seen in small dairy farms where it is common to see dairy cows from six to twelve years old. Such health problems include chronic mastitis, which is the inflammation of the mammary glands in the cow which is where the milk is produced. Other side effects on cows include a decrease in fertility of the cow, an increase of lameness and injection site reactions to the Bovine Growth Hormone. These side effects directly correlate to the longevity of the Cow itself, which is significantly decreased due to the side effects themselves because the farmers are forced to put the cows to slaughter sooner than those without BGH. This raises the controversy of labeling between the large corporate dairy farms and the small dairy farmers who want to label. The benefits of labeling for small dairy farmers is that they would see an increase in profits due to consumers buying dairy products produced from Bovine Growth Hormone free cattle. This would pose the problem for large corporations of being ostracized by consumers for using BGH products on their cattle.

Ensuring the safety is a major concern for every product, but especially for products like Recombinant bovine growth hormone where little is known about the possible effects and controversy is common. For that Reason both the Food and Drug Administration and the Monsanto Company took extra care to test the product Posilic, backed by over a decade of safety testing by Monsanto, and five years of safety testing by the FDA. Both the Food and Drug Administration