Yeah, sure it’s safe.

Following up on my Monsanto genetically-engineered food article, the agriculture giant recently announced its intention to divest of its Posliac bovine somatotripin business. The artificial growth hormone was developed by Monsanto to increase milk production. The divestiture comes amid increasing rejection of rbST-milk by both processors and consumers due to potential health hazards.

Although Monsanto insists its synthetic version of the natural hormone is safe, it can cause serious health hazards for the animal which can affect the milk supply. The equation is simple: Increased udder infections (or mastitis) lead to higher levels of pus and infective matter in the milk. It also increases the amount of medication a cow must ingest, which is then passed into the milk. In fact, here’s what Monsanto prints on each package of its artificial hormone:

“Cows injected with Posliac are at an increased risk of clinical mastitis (which results in visibly abnormal milk). The number of cows effected with clinical mastitis and the number of cases per cow may increase. In addition, the risk of sub-clinical mastitis (milk not visibly abnormal) is increased. In some herds, use of Posilac has been associated with increases in somatic cell counts…Use of Posilac is associated with increased frequency of use of medication in cows for mastitis and other health problems.…”

While the increased rejection of rbST-milk is considered a ‘victory’ for consumers, the bad news is that Monsanto intends to focus its attention on its genetically-engineered crop business, a market that they dominate and a technology that also poses health hazards.