We interrupt our regularly scheduled posting filled with pictures of our family to bring you this important information. Feel free to read or just move on down the blog to find something you like, ie: photos of Ben. :)
We always buy Boars Head brand deli meats. They are delicious and more importantly, free of nitrates, gluten, artificial color/flavor, fillers, etc. The deli counter always advertises this information, but they never have any placards regarding if their cheeses are made from milk obtained from cows pumped full of hormones. I'm specifically talking about the use of the hormones rBGH and rBST, which are given to cows to make them to produce more milk. The hormone genetically modifies the milk, we drink the milk, we now have the hormones wreaking havoc in our bodies (increasing cancer risk and early-onset puberty, for starters). You get the picture. This is one of the reasons why buying organic milk is a good idea. Milk labeled as "organic" cannot be from cows given hormones.
Back to the subject at hand: after months of wondering, I finally contacted Boars Head to ask them which, if any, of their cheeses contained hormones. I got a prompt reply with the following, which I made a screen shot of to post here.
Isn't it wild that Europe has banned the use of these hormones in their cows, but the FDA doesn't see a cause for concern?! It's safe to assume that cheese produced in Europe is free of these hormones. I know I'll be printing out a wallet-size copy of the Boars Head list to keep with me for reference, and I'll be giving a printout to the manager of our local Sunflower Market. Maybe it will encourage them to stock more of these cheeses!
Here are a few links you might find interesting:
http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/rbgh/
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/09/hormones-in-milk/
http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/general/milk.htm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/rbghlink.cfm
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| Ben loves hormone-free cheese! |
