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Milk consumers in the USA are waking up to the fact that most regular pasteurized milk comes from cows that have been given synthetic growth hormones. These hormones are known confusingly under three different names: rBGH, rBST and Posilac. All three names refer to exactly the same thing: synthetic growth hormones that are given to dairy cows to make them produce more milk than they otherwise would.

Some studies show that synthetic growth hormones in milk can increase the risk of cancer in human milk consumers. This is why synthetic growth hormones for cows are banned in most countries (although not in the United States where the synthetic growth hormones are manufactured).

The labels on regular pasteurized milk in the USA say nothing about the milk containing synthetic growth hormones. Yet over 95% of all pasteurized milk sold in the USA contain these growth hormones.

This is a matter of concern for many Americans, and consequently some companies such as the coffee chain Starbucks and Wal-Mart are switching to suppliers that provide milk free of synthetic growth hormones.

What about deceptive labelling?

When milk suppliers provide milk that is said to be free of synthetic growth hormones they are labelling the milk as being “hormone free”. This is totally misleading because no milk is “hormone free”. All kinds of milk without exception contain bovine growth hormones known as IGF-1. These bovine hormones are known to produce cancer in humans as evidenced by exhaustive research over the years.

With regard to milk labelling, organic milk producers are the biggest culprits. A major selling point for U.S. organic milk is that it does not have synthetic growth hormones. Organic milk labels invariably state: “hormone, antibiotics and pesticide-free.” But this is wholly misleading because no kind of dairy milk can be hormone free.

So if milk is labelled “hormone free” it is not only deceptive but factually incorrect. Such labelling implies the milk has no growth hormones, and this is simply not so. Instead of labelling the milk “hormone free”, it could be labelled “rBST free”, “rBGH free”, “free of artificial growth hormones”, or even “free of synthetic growth hormones”.

To summarize, absolutely all kinds of dairy milk contain bovine growth hormones. Additionally, most U.S. milk also contains synthetic growth hormones. It is therefore deceiving and incorrect to label any kind of milk as being “hormone free”.

However, there is one major exception: milk made from plant-based ingredients contains no growth hormones at all. Non-dairy milk made from nuts, seeds, rice, and soybeans is completely free of harmful hormones. Apart from being truly delicious, non-dairy milk is super-nutritious. For a free ebook on how to make great-tasting nut & seed milk please see below.

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