Babies in China are growing breasts. You read that correctly … infants are sporting boobs.
The cause? According to the Chinese Daily newspaper, overwhelming evidence points to the milk formula they are being fed. Medical tests performed on the infants indicated that the children, between the ages of 4 months and 15 months, had the same level of estrogen as grown women. That’s just insanity!
The company that produces the formula claims that there were no man-made chemicals added. So how did this happen? It’s being suggested that hormones were added to the cows used in the production do the formula. Apparently there are currently no laws in China prohibiting the use of hormones in livestock.
Many US products are imported from China. Is it possible for the same formula to make its way over here? Yep, and sadly, consumers have no way of knowing if the formula they are giving their babies comes from China — as if I need one more reason to eat organically. Talk about frightening!
Unfortunately, according to John Robbins of the Huffington Post,
Along with China, the U.S. is today one of the few countries in the world that still allows bovine growth hormones to be injected into dairy cows. Though banned in Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe, the use of these hormones in U.S. dairy is not only legal, it’s routine in all 50 states.
The U.S. dairy industry assures us that this is not a problem. But there is a very real problem, and its name is Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1). Monsanto’s own studies, as well as those of Eli Lilly & Co., have found a 10-fold increase in IGF-1 levels in the milk of cows who have been injected with bovine growth hormone (BGH).
Why is that a problem? A report by the European Commission’s authoritative international 16-member scientific committee not only confirmed that excessive levels of IGF-1 are always found in the milk of cows injected with BGH. It also concluded that excess levels of IGF-1 pose serious risks of breast, colon and prostate cancer.
Robbins goes on to recommend, if possible, that all mothers breastfeed their babies. Secondly, buy organic dairy products or ones produced without BGH. He also notes that Starbucks and Ben and Jerry’s use BGH-free dairy, and I have to say, it’s rather refreshing to see large companies protecting their consumers. Now if only the FDA would ban BGH entirely. Then we might be making some progress!
Of course, it’s still rather unnatural to feed your child milk containing the natural post-pregnancy hormones of another species, and ‘organic’ labelling is seriously questionable…
It’s China. No story surprises me when I hear it comes from China.
The article was perfectly clear that those hormones could be in formula bought, sold and made in the US because of the injections US farmers give their cows.
Just because we’re seeing the signs in China first doesn’t mean it shouldn’t “surprise” you. What a racist thing to say.
Not only is China an increasingly progressive country, but the US is also responsible for approving these hormone injections in their dairy. Would it “surprise” you if you heard it happened in the US first?
I will say I feel lucky to be Canadian, where hormone injections have been banned. When I do travel to the States, I’m much more aware of what I eat there (that includes meat–also injected with God knows what).
I don’t think that the comment that it is not surprising to hear this story out of China is racist. There are a multitude of similar stories that come out fairly often that highlight some kind of weird thing happening in relation to some kind of manufacturing process. The only thing that is somewhat rare is when we hear about it here, i.e. when it is part of a product that we consume.
As far as China being progressive… what do you mean by that?
Erm, it’s not racist, it’s the truth. Remember the whole formula-killing-infants thing from a few years ago? That’s why this isn’t surprising. Remember lead paint on Chinese toys? Hmm, also not surprising.
No, it’s not racist. Countryist, perhaps. Nationalist? ‘western’ist? democratist?
Any of those.
I said nothing about ‘the Chinese’, either in China or those of the ethnic group across the world. I said everything about the country.
China *the country* is a mess. There is either no regulation, or the regulation is completely ignored (seems most likely), or the regulators are bribed. One way or another, products from China (both internally used and exported) keep coming up with crazy defects and other issues.
Thus, as I initially stated, no report surprises me if it comes from China.
This is funny… I could have sworn this was a feminist website.
Does this have anything to do with feminism? NO?
Dude, I get it. You love paying $6 for a head of lettuce from Whole Foods because it makes you feel safe and superior. YOU make the right choices… why doesn’t everyone else see the light? Maybe instead of crying out that the sky is falling because of those nasty corporate scientists, you should be wondering why it’s only the rich who can afford to eat this wholesome food and have the choice to feed their babies the best. What impact this news has on women who don’t have a choice.
It encourages them to breastfeed, Manda, which is free and healthier.
Agreed. There is no way I can afford organic at all, except for the infrequent HonesTea every now and then. I took it more as a sign that women in China need to unstick their heads from their arses and breastfeed since their precious formula seems to have a propensity for killing/screwing up their children. Yes, I realize that many women cannot breastfeed; however, if more of the women who were able to did, these formula problems would affect a much smaller group of children.
Erin,
This might surprise you, but it’s American’s who have their heads stuck. Chinese mother’s breast feed more often, and for more than twice as long on average than American mothers.
The largest consumer of powered milk from China is the United States. We put it in Kraft mac and cheese, and all sorts of pasta sauces, breads, and many other foods you’d never expect. We don’t even call it milk on the label!
I see nothing wrong with powdered milk. As a backpacker, I use it in a few different things.
It’s different from formula and an entirely different issue. People eating KD are typically beyond the breastmilk/formula stage…
Erin – see my reply to Siobhan below. It depends what you mean by “breastfeed”. If you simply mean “feed breast milk to” then I would happily disagree. Undoubtedly some mothers are incapable, but others have milk to spare, and if we pooled our resources (no pun intended) in milk banks, every mother would be able to feed her child breastmilk. It would help allieviate the unwarranted blame on low lactating mothers, by removing the “breast is best” self righteous mantra from the equation. Also, as mentioned below, it could be used by relief organisations much as Red Cross uses blood supply internationally – feeding disaster orphans banked breastmilk.
Anyone educated about organics would know that it is not important to buy organic lettuce, but they would know what it is important to buy. This article just provides (more) evidence that “conventional” dairy products can be harmful, which is not new information.
I have never made more than $24,000/yr (and often made much, much less) and I still manage to eat mostly organically. The “only the wealthy can afford it” argument is nonsense. I would argue that nearly every person with the leisure time to read and post on this site is not living in poverty in a “food desert” but rather unwilling to seek information about organics and unwilling to eat a reasonable diet of whole foods.
Sure, organic cookies and juice boxes and individual yogurts are expensive, but organic dried beans and bulgar wheat and tomatoes and cukes from your garden are not.
Please get your head out of your ass. I’m a college student and I make less than $12,000 a year and I live in apartment. I don’t have the money to afford organic foods or the space to grow a garden. It has nothing to do with me being unwilling to eat whole foods. Trust me, I’d be thrilled if I could afford to eat whole foods because I have a digestive disorder and a lot of foods make me sick. I have to pay over a hundred dollars out of pocket every month for my medication. I can barely afford the food I do eat, and then I have to feel the pain for it later. I’m sorry, but you just really pissed me off.
Finchy said “nearly every person” can afford organic products if they do some research. Most people make more than $12,000 a year. Most people who only make that much are eligible for food stamps.
Besides that, if you’re cooking from scratch and eating a bean/rice based diet and buying your produce in season, you can afford to eat quite healthy on very little money. For example, organic grapes are friggin’ expensive if you buy them out of season. Since they’re one of the worst foods to eat non local and non organic, don’t eat them unless they’re in season. You can’t have everything all the time. Since you’re living on $12,000 a year, I’m sure that’s not a hard concept for you to wrap your head around.
Also, it’s quite easy to avoid the worst of chemically laden foods if you aren’t eating fast food.
Thanks for posting this. You should include a link to John’s website: http://www.johnrobbins.info/ He has a lot more thought more articles, all informative, on his blog.
I just wanted to chime in and say that while I think breast feeding is the best option for infants, I don’t think it’s okay to shame women who formula feed.
My first child was premature and I had a very difficult time nursing him. Motherhood is hard enough as it is, the last thing any mom needs is harsh judgment.
Absolutely Siobhan. Weak immune system post-birth for example, can mean thrush in bub’s mouth and on mums teats, causing excruciating pain during breastfeeding. However, we can also see it as yet another +1 for promoting and funding milk banks like we do blood banks. Premmy babies with low lactating mothers need not be fed formula – if the abundantly lactating mothers are encouraged (subsidised??) to donate to milk banks. As a side benefit, any excess could be donated to disaster affected infants, such as Haiti orphans.
I like that it continues to nest. But it now does so beyond reason.
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Can you PLEASE get rid of the obnoxious purple bars on the sides, narrow the ads and the links on the side, and give us some room to read?
You can buy organic cheaply. I buy most of my produce from Sam’s Club in the winter (Sam’s produce is nearly all organic, although the sizes you need to buy may be too much for just one person), and farmer’s markets in the summer.
I find it very interesting that Wal-Mart – of all places – will not accept milk from producers who use hormones.
I had no idea about the Wal-Mart thing. That’s awesome. They have the same policy at Trader Joe’s. I think it extends to all the dairy they sell. They have organic dairy products that are more expensive, but the hormone/antibiotic free dairy is a really good, less expensive alternative.
I went to a regular grocery store the other day and I was appalled at how expensive (and sad looking) the organic produce was. If people are only shopping at mainstream stores I can understand why they assume all organic products are terribly expensive. I saw the same humanly raised, everything-free bacon I normally buy for $4 at Trader Joe’s for $8 at Albertson’s. The milk was also twice as much as at Trader Joe’s. Crazy!
Holy crap! Ok, if my town had a Trader Joe’s I probably would be able to afford some organic food. I didn’t realize how much more expensive it was at Albertson’s. That’s positively heinous.
I realize that I am very, very lucky to live so close to Trader Joe’s.
It is ridiculous that mainstream grocery stores charge so much for healthy food.
I know it’s a bit extreme, but you guys are in a recession so let me tell you what Africa does to get cheap healthier food. A group of likeminded women get together and pool resources. If possible, each member agrees to grow/farm 1 thing (eg. bees, quite small scale, balcony is fine). For the rest of the staples, they approach farmers and essentially offer to pay wholesale prices for food of their choice from the farm. They buy it in bulk and then distribute amoungst the co-op group, taking it in turns to buy, stash and distribute. The rest of the group will “buy” the produce of each other by preference, meaning the contributor has more money for outside shopping via the farm system. This means the group has a strong incentive to produce and to offer discounts to other members in order to get more purchases.
Co-op! Awesome.
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