The report that Monsanto and Fox TV DIDN`T WANT YOU TO SEE!

[Guest guest]

Wednesday, April 03, 2002 11:45 PM

The report that Monsanto and Fox TV DIDN`T WANT

YOU TO SEE!

 

 

Laura Lee News - The Mystery in Your Milk-

http://www.lauralee.com/news/mysterymilk.htm -

 

The Mystery in Your Milk

by Jane Akre & Steve Wilson

T

he report that Monsanto and Fox TV didn't want you to see. Published for the

first time.

 

Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, a respected reporting team at WTTV, a Fox

Network Station in Tampa, Florida, were fired from their jobs after refusing

to broadcast what they knew and documented to be false and distorted

information about Monsanto's bovine growth hormone (BGH) -- a genetically

engineered product that has been linked to the proliferation of breast,

prostate, and colon cancer cells in humans.

 

On August 28, 2000, a Florida jury unanimously decided that Akre had been

fired for threatening to blow the whistle on Fox for pressuring her and

Wilson to broadcast a false, distorted and slanted news report and awarded

her $425,000 for lost wages and damages. Fox is appealing.

 

This is the first time that the script that got the reporters in trouble has

appeared in print. This important document has been edited for length but

not censored. For the full version, go to the website:

http://www.foxbghsuit.com

Reporters' Version - Part I

 

" Nature's most nearly perfect food " - that's how most of us have always

thought of milkSwholesome, nutritious and pure just like it says on some of

the trucks that deliver it. But down on the farm where most of us never see?

Some Florida farmers have been quietly squeezing more cash from their cows

by injecting them with an artificial growth hormone so they'll produce more

milk than nature intended.

 

Thurman Hattan, Florida Dairy Farmer: " Yes I would say, people in Florida

are using it. (Reporter Jane Akre) And you yourself? (Hatten) Ahh.

 

Narration: Hatten is one of many Florida dairymen reluctant to admit that

they're injecting their cows every two weeks.

Hattan continues: " .it's possible I could be using it. "

Narration: The drug some Florida farmers don't want you to know they're

using is a Monsanto laboratory version of bovine growth hormone known as

BGH.

 

Here's how it works: when the cow gets injected with extra BGH, it

stimulates the production of another hormone called IGF-1. That's really the

stuff that speeds up the cow's metabolism, causing her to produce up to 30

percent more milk.

But some scientists like Dr. Samuel Epstein are warning what might be good

for the farmers' bottom line might be big trouble down the line for people

drinking the milk from treated cows.

 

Samuel Epstein, Scientist, University of Illinois: " .there are highly

suggestive if not persuasive lines of evidence showing that consumption of

this milk poses risks of breast and colon cancer. "

 

Narration: Dr. Epstein is a scientist at the University of Illinois School

of Public Health. He's earned three medical degrees, written eight books,

and is frequently called upon to advise Congress about things in our

environment which may cause cancer. He and others like Dr. William von Meyer

point to what they say is a growing body of scientific evidence of a link

between IGF-1 and human cancers which might not show up for years to come.

 

William Von Meyer, Research Scientist: " We're going to save some lives if we

review this now. If we allow BGH to go on, I'm sure we're taking excessive

risks with society. "

 

Narration: Dr. Von Meyer has spent 30 years studying chemical products and

testing their effects on humans. He's supervised many such tests on

thousands of animals at schools such as the University of London and UCLA.

He's headed agricultural, chemical and genetic research at some of America's

most prestigious companies.

 

Monsanto is the giant chemical company which sells the synthetic hormone

under the brand name PosilacSand Monsanto has consistently rejected the

concerns of scientists around the world.

 

Dr. Robert Collier, Chief Monsanto BGH Scientist: " In fact, the FDA has

commented several times on this issue after there were concerns raised. They

have publicly restated human safety confidence.this is not something

knowledgeable people have concerns about. "

 

Narration: While other companies have dropped by the wayside, Monsanto has

invested a mountain of money into Bovine Growth Hormone.

 

Company sales tapes encourage farmers to use it as a tool to milk more

profits out of every cow.

Video Clip of Monsanto sales tape: " Of course you'll want to inject Posilac

into every eligible cow, as each cow not treated is a lost income

opportunity. "

 

Narration: A number of critics, including at least one state agriculture

commissioner, have called it " crack for cows " for the way it speeds up the

cow's milk production.but despite its promise of profit, some dairymen say

the product doesn't always lead to happy trails for the cows or for those

who tend them.

 

Charles Knight, Florida Dairy Farmer: " It's a tool that can be used, but you

better be careful, 'cause it can burn you... "

Narration: Near Wachula, Charles Knight won't use Monsanto's synthetic BGH

anymore. He is one of many farmers who say they've watched Posilac burn

their cows out sooner, shortening their lives by maybe two years.

 

Narration: Knight says he had to replace 75 percent of his herd due to hoof

problems and serious udder infections. Those are two of more than 20

potential troubles listed right on the product warning label. But apart from

potential suffering for the animals, the major concern is how the hormone

injected into the cow changes the milk that ends up on our tables.

Robert Collier: " .this is the most studied molecule certainly in the history

of domestic animal science. "

 

Narration: While that claim may be open to dispute, Monsanto.did put the

product through a decade's worth of testing before it was approved by the

FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine as an animal drug. But that's part of

the problem, according to many scientists who say since BGH alters the milk

we drink, it should meet the higher safety standards required of human

drugs. The critics say tests on BGH milk that could have answered these

concerns about long-term risk to humans were just never done.

 

Dr. William Von Meyer, Research Scientist: " A human drug requires two years

of carcinogenic testing and extensive birth-defect testing. BGH was tested

for 90 days on 30 rats at any dose before it was approved. "

Robert Collier: " But suffice it to say the cancer experts don't see the

health issue and it's unfortunate the public is being scared by an issue

that shouldn't be of concern. "

 

Narration: Monsanto's dairy research director points to what the FDA has

repeatedly said since the day it approved BGH back in 1993: " The public can

be confident that milk and meat from BGH-treated cows is safe to consume. " .

 

Part II

Narration: You won't find Ol' Flossie and Bossie on Fred Gore's dairy farm

in Zephyrhills. On Fred's farm, all the cows have numbers instead of names -

and they're watched by electronic eyes 24 hours a day.

 

Farmer Gore, Florida Dairy Farmer: " They help tell me if proper procedures

are being followed. "

Narration: At a modern dairy farm, cows wear transponders that even tell a

computer how much milk she gave today.

Farmer Gore: " She's giving 121 pounds a day. "

 

Narration: In the competitive business of dairy farming these days,

productivity is paramount. That's why Fred Gore and others like him were all

ears when the giant Monsanto chemical company started promoting its new

product called Posilac.

Video Clip from Monsanto sales tape: " Posilac is the single most-tested

product in history and it helps increase your profit potential. "

 

Narration: Monsanto promised that Posilac - a laboratory version of the

cow's natural growth hormone - could get Ol' 2356 and her friends to produce

up to 30 percent more milk. That was good news to Florida farmers who need

all the help they can get in a state where high heat, humidity and little

local grain make dairy farming a struggle.

 

The " promise of Posilac " sounded great to dairyman Charles Knight.but he

says it didn't turn out that way.

Charles Knight, Florida Dairy Farmer: " About the same time we began having a

lot of foot problems with our cows because they got so crippled they

couldn't walk. "

 

Narration: Right after he started using the drug on his herd near Wachula

three years ago, Knight says his animals were plagued with those problems

and serious infections of his cows' udders. Troubles he attributes to

Posilac eventually caused him to replace the majority of his herd. He says

when he called dairy experts at the University of Florida and at Monsanto,

they both had the same response.

 

Farmer Knight: " [T]hey said you're the only person having this problem so it

must be what you're doing here. You must be having management problems. "

 

Narration: The University of Florida, by the way, did much of the research

on BGH and has received millions in gifts and grants from Monsanto. Knight

says neither the university nor the company ever mentioned Monsanto research

that showed hundreds of other cows on other farms were also suffering hoof

problems and mastitis, a painful infection of the cow's udders.

 

Farmer Knight: If untreated, the infection can get into the cow's milk so

farmers try to cure it by giving the cow shots of antibiotics.more drugs

that can find their way into the milk on your table, which could make your

own body more resistant to antibiotics.

 

Dr. Michael Hanson, Consumers Union Scientist: " In fact, there is over 60

drugs that they believe can be used on farms and they test for a very small

percentage of them.

File video of protesters chanting: " Boycott BGH. Boycott BGHS "

Collier: " There are no human or animal safety issues that would prevent

approval in Canada once they've completed their review, not that I'm aware

of. "

 

Narration: But long-term human safety is exactly the concern expressed by a

Canadian House committee on health. Here are the minutes of a 1995 meeting

where members voted to ask Canada's Health Minister to try and keep BGH off

the market for at least two more years. Why? " .to allow members of

Parliament to further examine the human health implications " of the drug.

 

It's still not legal to sell the unlicensed product north of the border,

despite the company's efforts to gain the approval of government regulators.

 

Narration: In the Fall of 1994, Canadian television quoted a Canadian health

official as reporting Monsanto offered $1-2 million if her government

committee would recommend BGH approval in Canada without further data or

studies of the drug. Another member of her committee who was present when

Monsanto made the offer was asked: " Was that a bribe? "

File Video Clip of CBC documentary - CBC Correspondent to committee member:

" Is that how it struck you? (Dr. Edwards) Certainly! "

 

Reporter Jane Akre on camera: " Monsanto said the report alleging bribery was

" a blatant untruth, " that Canadian regulators just didn't understand the

offer of the money was for research. Monsanto demanded a retraction. The

Canadian Broadcasting Company stands by its story... "

 

Hansen: " Monsanto has a very checkered history with some of its other

products. "

 

Narration: Dr. Michael Hansen of Consumers Union is another American

scientist still very skeptical about BGH. He says Monsanto was wrong years

ago when it convinced the government PCB's were safe. Those were put inside

electrical conductors for years.until researchers in Japan and Sweden showed

serious hazards to human health and the environment.

 

And you've heard of Agent Orange, 2-4-5-T, the defoliant used in Vietnam?

Monsanto convinced the government it, too, was safe. It was later proven to

be extremely harmful to humans.and a government investigator found what she

said was " a clear pattern of fraudulent content in Monsanto's research "

which led to approval.

 

In the case of BGH, Monsanto was required to promptly report all complaints

from farmers. Florida dairyman Charles Knight says he was complaining loud

and clear that Posilac was decimating his herd.but four months later he

found the company had not passed one of his complaints to the FDA as

required.

 

Charles Knight, Florida Dairyman: " .so how many more hundreds of complaints

out there sat and were not registered with FDA? "

 

Narration: Monsanto admits a long delay in reporting Knight's complaints. A

company spokesman claims despite a series of on-farm visits and telephone

conversations with Knight, it took four months for them to understand he was

complaining about BGH. As for those safety claims for previous Monsanto

products that turned out to be dangerous, the company offered no comment.

Part III

 

Narration: Whether you know it or not, by the time it's bottled, chances are

milk from treated cows ends up in the jug you carry home. It's made the milk

on your table one of the first genetically engineered foods ever to be fed

to your family. and the population at large.

J

eff LeMaster, Consumer/Dad: " And for her, now that she's eating people food,

we want to give her as much good stuff without the chemical additives as

possible. "

 

Narration: Grocers and the dairy industry know synthetic BGH in milk worries

consumers like Jeff and Janet LeMaster. A whopping 74 percent of those

questioned in this University of Wisconsin study released just last year

expressed concern about unknown harmful human health effects which might

show up later.

 

Robert Collier, Chief Monsanto BGH Scientist: " What they need to know is

that the milk hasn't changed.... "

Narration: That's the assurance of Monsanto. It's the company position,

despite scientific studies which show the milk we're getting from

BGH-treated cows has a higher level of something called IGF-1, a hormone

believed to promote cancer.

 

Narration: Government regulators in Canada, New Zealand and all of Europe

have expressed similar concerns and refused to license the drug for sale in

all those countries.

File Video, consumer protesters chanting: " Boycott BGH! "

 

Narration: So three years ago when the drug was approved in America and

protesters started dumping milk that contained the synthetic hormone, your

grocer and your milkman decided something had to be done to protect sales.

Riley Hogan, Tampa Dairy Co-op: " For good business reasons, Publix [a

marketing chain] and I both wanted to avoid the use of the product until

there was public acceptance. "

 

Narration: Maybe you recall these media reports from 1994 when Albertsons

reassured Florida consumers " Swe will do our utmost to ensure that (people)

don't get it " in their milk. Publix issued similar assurances.

 

The truth is, nobody ever did anything but go through the motions of asking

farmers to keep BGH out of the milk supply.

And when we visited seven Central Florida dairy operations chosen at random,

how many were heeding the grocers' request? Not a one.

 

Albertsons acknowledged: " It is widely accepted in the industry that most

all dairy farmers now use BGH " but " we do not know which or how many dairies

use it. " .

But not everybody's using it. Ben and Jerry, America's icons of ice cream,

don't want anything to do with it. and they're leading the fight to give you

a choice at the grocer's dairy case.

 

Part IV

Ben Cohen, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream: " A big part of the issue is that

consumers are well aware that what the FDA said was fine and healthy 10 and

20 years ago, the FDA is saying is really bad for you today.

 

Narration: It's one of the big reasons Ben and Jerry, makers of some of

America's favorite ice cream, are so opposed to farmers injecting their

dairy cows with Bovine Growth Hormone genetically engineered in a Monsanto

chemical lab.

 

Narration: Our investigation has found only one dairy in Florida which

produces milk from cows not treated with BGH and what happened when the

folks at the Golden Fleece dairy in Central Florida wanted to label their

products as synthetic BGH-free?

 

Well, first they say Commissioner Crawford's people strongly discouraged it,

but what really deterred them was a fear Monsanto - the company which makes

the hormone - would come after them in court.

 

Glen Norton, Golden Fleece Dairy: " From the information I heard and read, I

was afraid at some point that if we tried to do extra labeling, that

Monsanto could cause damage to my small, fragile business. "

 

Narration: Norton and others like him may have reason to be scared. Right

after Monsanto started marketing its BGH three years ago, a number of

dairies that didn't use it began to label their products so consumers would

know.

 

Robert Collier: " In fact, there are quite a few co-ops that do just that and

we have not opposed that at all. "

 

Narration: But that's not true. Monsanto did file lawsuits against two small

dairies, forcing them to stop labeling. Then the company spread the news

with follow-up letters to other dairies that apparently saw the writing on

the wall.and they also stopped.

 

The labels on Ben and Jerry's ice cream will soon be different, too. The

label will also carry wording that says the FDA has said there is no

significant difference between milk from treated and untreated cows - a

claim some scientists sharply question.

 

That wording, by the way, was written by Michael Taylor, an attorney who

worked for Monsanto both before and after his time as an FDA official.

 

Some dairy people say Ben and Jerry have jumped on the anti-BGH bandwagon as

just a way to sell more of their ice cream.

Ben Cohen: " The tremendous amount of chemicals that's used in conventional

agriculture is having a horrible effect on the environment and on the health

of our citizens and our customers and you know, (laugh), if you want to say

is it our self-interest? Yeah! We want to keep our customers alive. They eat

more ice cream when they're alive! "

 

Narration: As part of an effort to influence these reports, a lawyer hired

by Monsanto wrote a Fox television executive saying the discussion of any

possible link between the use of synthetic BGH and cancer is " .the most

blatant form of scaremongering. "

 

In a second letter, he said Monsanto critics are in all probability

" scientifically incompetent. " He is referring to critics such as Dr. Samuel

Epstein at the University of Illinois School of Public Health. Epstein has

three medical degrees, he's the author of eight books, and is frequently

called to testify before Congress about the environmental causes of cancer.

 

Like other BGH critics, Epstein contends it's just wrong to introduce a

product into the marketplace when there are so many important and

still-unresolved human health questions.

 

Samuel Epstein, Research Scientist: " We're living in the greatest democracy

in the world in many ways but in other ways were in a corporate dictatorship

in which big government and big industry decide what information the

consumer can and should have and it's the objective of me and the Cancer

Prevention Coalition to assure that this information be made available and

let the public decide.and let grassroot citizens take over where government

and industry has failed. "

 

This is the first time that the script that got the reporters in trouble has

appeared in print. This important document has been edited for length but

not censored. For the full version, go to the website:

http://www.foxbghsuit.com

Earth Island Journal - Summer 2001 Vol. 16 #2

 

 

 

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

This is an excellent example of the challenge that that truth frequently

faces in getting to the public. This information is not presented through

the media as a result of economic and political pressures.

 

I am delighted to be able to work with Dr. Epstein in promoting some of his

outstanding efforts to inform the public about some of these dangers. If you

live in Illinois please be sure and attend the Symposium he is sponsoring

next month.

If you are still drinking regular milk I would encourage you to discontinue

this practice as soon as possible. The growth hormone issues discussed above

are only one of the reasons why this should be considered.

 

The major issue is the pasteurization of the milk which completely changes

the structure of the milk proteins (denaturization) into something far less

than healthy. Then, of course there is the issue of the antibiotics and

pesticides and the fact that nearly all commercial dairy cows are raised on

grains, not grass, like they were designed to. This will change the

composition of the fats, especially the CLA content.

 

 

 

Source of this article: www.mercola.com

 

The LAURA LEE SHOW - On the Web Since 1995

1995-2001 LL Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved

Revised: May 29, 2001.

 

 

 

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