Got Milk?

Growing up I was always told to drink my milk so I can grow big and strong, also that milk was a necessary food group to maintain a healthy diet. However, in recent years many people have tried to cut down on the amount of dairy milk they consume. This is for multiple different reasons whether it be for health benefits or ethical beliefs. Instead of purchasing and consuming dairy milk many people have switched to using alternative milk such as coconut milk and almond milk. This has caused a massive decline in the sales of dairy milk. According to data journalist, Niall McCarthy, “Whole milk consumption has plummeted in the United States, falling 40 percent since 1975.”, and this decline has had a huge impact on American dairy farmers. So why are so many people saying no to dairy milk?

One of the biggest reasons why so many people have boycotted dairy milk is because of a fear of growth hormones. Growth hormones are injected into cows to make the cow mature faster and increase milk production. People have a fear of growth hormones because they have been rumored to be linked to certain cancers such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The most well known and controversial hormone found in dairy milk is the bovine growth hormone. According to the American Cancer Society bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH, is a synthetic hormone that has been banned in countries like Europe and Canada but not the United States. 

The two most common concerns people have about bovine growth hormones are one they increase blood levels in cows and second, they make more susceptible to udder infections. However, these effects have not been linked to having any health effects on those who consume milk from cows who have been given these hormones. The American Cancer Society stated that bovine growth hormone is not active in humans so even they were to absorb them from drinking milk, they wouldn’t expect health effects. The American Cancer Society also noted, “It is not clear that drinking milk produced using rBGH adds to the risk of developing cancer.” Their current stance on bovine growth hormones is “The American Cancer Society (ACS) has no formal position regarding rBGH.”

Ultimately there has not been enough research done that links the growth hormones used in milk and cancer. But if you’re still nervous about the effects growth hormones can have on your health you can always choose organic milk. A study conducted by Emory University was done to compare organic dairy milk to non-organic dairy and they found that organic dairy milk had significantly lower levels of bovine growth hormone.