Milk -- rbST or non-rbSt? What's the Difference?

FYI, Costco sells only milk without the rbST hormones. And they are far cheaper than most grocery stores. Last week, I paid $2.26 per gallon for skim. If you don't have a membership, I recommend it for families. It's $50/year for the basic, and we find that savings on milk and bread alone more than pay for that. We go through 3-4 gallons of milk/week, so even $1 savings per gallon adds up. The only bummer is that they carry only skim, 1%, and 2%...no whole (for those of us whose kids are transitioning to milk). I can't tell you much about the hormones themselves, but they scare me, so we stick with the hormone-free stuff.

I only purchase kemps select or any milk that does not have rbst in it for the very reason that you stated. I do not want to put any additional hormones into my kids body if I can help it. There are studies out there that state rbst does not have any harmful affect but I am not so sure. I cannot not give you specific facts right at this moment but I am sure that you google it you will find some helpful info. I also do my best to avoid hormones in our meat such as chicken,pork & beef. It can be expensive though.

The European Union has banned the use of such hormones in dairy cows. Keep buying the non-hormone milk and dairy products!

In addition to the other comments, I'd like to add that the use of hormones in cows makes their lives miserable. They produce much more milk and have many more infections (mastitis). The cows are then treated with antibiotics. If milk is contaminated with antibiotics, it cannot be sold. Who knows if it accidentally gets into the market. In any event, what a complete waste to have to throw it out.

I've also read that puss can be found in milk from cows treated with hormones (as a result of their infections). Many other countries have banned the use of RbST.

Expensive but worth it in my opinion not to have the hormones in the milk for my daughter. You are right in saying that they cause side effects like maturing early (even though suposedly they are ok). I don't go completely orgainic or anything. I just try to buy stuff that says hormone free. Why take the risk?

I switched my 5 girls to organic all dairy 2 years ago and I have noticed little things like my now 11 yr old slowed down her maturing. Just know that cheese is a very condensed form of of milk. I justified the difference in cost by not buying as much junk food so our grocery bill didn't change any. Plus it supports the little farmers. Old Home don't advertise not having hormone but is.
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