Drink Milk Like a European

Buy Milk Labeled "No rBST or BGH" or "USDA Organic"

milk labels - milk from cows treated with rBST

By Deborah Barrow

30 Days to a Greener Diet - Day 8

That's right, America. If you are drinking milk that isn't organic or doesn't have words such as “no rBST” or “hormone free” on the label, then you are drinking something that has been banned in Europe, Canada and Japan. That's because the controversial Monsanto-marketed artificial growth hormone used on cows producing most of the US milk supply is not allowed to be used on cows producing milk for human consumption in most of the rest of the developed world.

So, even though our lobbyist-led FDA allows American dairies to juice up their milk cows with these controversial artificial hormones, there’s no reason why you have to play guinea pig with yourself or your family. Shop for organic milk, or milk that at least says “no artificial growth hormones” or “no rBST or rBGH” on the label. It's an easy, obvious way to green your diet.

And why not? At the very least, the cows, who can get udder infections when shot up with the stuff, requiring an antibiotic cure (which critics claim is contributing to the rampant growth of drug-resistant microbes such as the MRSA virus), will thank you for it.