Katie's Got Chutzpah Award

Dis Furry Friday we iz givin da Got Chutzpah Award to Steve Wilson and Jane Akre, Investigative Repurrters.

Dey waz fired frum Fox News fur telling da truth abouts bovine growth hormone frum Monsanto and how it mite affect hooman beans.

Now I knows Mr. Milky at Artsy Catsy wuvs milk and so do us kitties at Kat-Renée Purrductions. Mawmee cants hafs any dairy products, cuz of bein lactose intolurant... but before dat she woulds drinks a gallon in two days!

But dis isn't bouts milk, its about dis here shot deys givin to cows to overwerks them to makes more milk. And dehr is sums countries like Canada dat said no to dis here drug.

Here is da story of hows Steve and Jane gotted fired fur tellin da truth.



Onse we hurds bout dis, we hads ta gif dem dis here award and thank You Tube fur airing dis news fur all to see so we kins make our own decision bout dese facts. There is still folks who takes truth and ethics seriously, no mattur what.
Dis is Katie Too Repurrtin...
(We do dis here Award agins next week sumtime.)

Search Words: Channel 13 Fox News; Monsanto; bovine growth hormone (BGH); Health Risks/Effects of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST); Steve Wilson, Investigative Reporter; Jane Akre, Investigative Reporter

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From Yahoo:
rbST (Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin) or rBGH (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) is a controversial, genetically engineered version of the Bovine Growth Hormone used for increasing milk production in cows. While it is used in the United States, it is banned in Canada, the EU (The EU has actually taken a stance leaving it up to separate nations. One thing that they did not do is set a "maximum safe amount" of rBST which is actually something that Monsanto is citing in their PR campaign), Australia, and New Zealand.

Monsanto developed a recombinant version of bST (rbST), which goes by the brand name Posilac®. Injected into dairy cattle, the product can increase milk production from 10% up to 40%. In November 1993, the product was approved for use in the U.S. by the FDA, and its use began in February 1994. The product is now sold in all 50 states. According to Monsanto, approximately one third of dairy cattle in the U.S. are injected with Posilac; approximately 13,000 dairy producers use the product. It is now the top selling dairy cattle pharmaceutical product in the U.S. The FDA does not require special labels for products produced from cows given rbST.

However, many groups claim not enough research has been done into human health effects and subsequently these groups claim a possible increased risk of cancers, diabetes, and hypertension in consumers of products from rbST injected cows. Other fears include health problems for the injected cattle, and an economic concern for small farmers due to the increased supply of milk.

Use of rBGH in cows also increases insulin growth factor (IGF-1) in milk. Although IGF-1 is important for normal development, some studies suggest that IGF-1 is involved in the progression of breast, prostate and colorectal cancer.

According to Monsanto, milk and meat from cattle supplemented with rbST are safe. Monsanto also states that the only difference between milk from supplemented cattle and unsupplemented cattle is the amount of IGF1 — and that there is not even a difference in the concentration of bST.

In 1998, a Canadian committee found there are increased risks to animal safety due to injections of rbST. According to their report, use of rbST increased the risk of mastitis by up to 25%, infertility by 18%, and lameness by up to 50%. Humans who have too much (human) growth hormone can develop a disease called acromegaly; some speculate that it is no more healthy for cows to have too much growth than it is for humans. Many animal rights activists oppose any farming practice that seems to "industrialize" food production from animals in an artificial way, because they fear for the animal's well being.

Milk production in North America, Europe, and Australia is already plentiful and milk is relatively inexpensive, so those opposing the use of the drug have expressed concerns that using the drug to increase milk production (hence depressing prices) primarily benefits large scale producers, and will narrow the margins that small dairy farms receive for their products.

Related legal actions

In 1997, a Tampa, Florida television station, WTVT (a News Corp owned Fox station), reportedly bowed to pressure from Monsanto to suppress an investigative report on the health risks associated with Monsanto's recombinant bovine growth hormone product, Posilac. Posilac is banned in most first-world countries, with the exception of the United States, where it can be found in much of the milk supply. WTVT pressured its reporters, Steve Wilson and Jane Akre, to alter their report, despite evidence that Monsanto had lied about the risks of contaminated milk and infected cattle. The reporters refused to comply, and were eventually fired.

Wilson and Akre then sued WTVT in Florida state court, claiming they could not be fired for refusing to do something that they believed to be illegal. In 2000, a Florida jury found in favor of the reporters. However this decision was overturned in 2003 by an appeals court, the court determining that because there was no law prohibiting the television station from requiring it's reporters to lie and as such the reporters were not protected by whistleblower status. The reporters' struggle with WTVT is ongoing. The findings in their original report were never directly challenged.

* In the United States, the use of rbST is permitted.
* In Canada, the use of rbST has not been approved due to its effects on the Canadian milk production capping (quota) system.
* In 1993, the European Union placed a moratorium on its sale by all 25 member nations.
* Japan and New Zealand have also banned the product.