Why do cattle ranchers and dairy farmers use bovine growth hormone? What are the effects in people who ingest the meat and milk from cows treated with BGH?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANS:
Some ranchers in the United States treat cattle with bovine growth hormone (BGH). All cows make BGH naturally, but when given higher doses, animals pro- duce leaner meats, and dairy cows produce more milk.

Scientists can genetically alter bacteria to produce BGH, which allows laboratories to harvest huge quantities of the hormone and sell it to farmers as a drug. Indeed, traces of BGH do remain in the meat and milk of both hormone-treated and untreated cows. BGH residues have not been tested for safety in human beings because residues of the natural hormone have always been present in milk and meat, and the amount found in treated cows is within the range that can occur naturally. Furthermore, BGH, being a peptide hormone, is denatured by the heat used in processing milk and cooking meat, and it is also digested by enzymes in the GI tract. The FDA has determined that BGH absorption does not occur in humans and that BGH is biologically inactive in humans even if injected. According to the National Institutes of Health, "As currently used in the United States, meat and milk from [hormone] treated cows are as safe as those from untreated cows." Whether hormones that have passed through the animals into feces and then contaminated the soil and water interfere with plants or animals in the environment remains controversial.