Should I go Organic?

I was visiting with a friend today and she told me that her older sister, age 34, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. There is no family history and the doctors told her that her cancer was hormone-based. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but my friend told me that it may mean that hormone-treated foods could have played a factor in her getting breast cancer. They aren’t sure, but it has definitely swayed my friend into purchasing her milk, eggs and meat from Winder Farms, where no hormones are used on the animals that these products come from. I have been thinking about this a lot lately and wondering if I should spend a little more and purchase these “special” foods. I did some research on Hormones in food and found that basically, no one is sure what to believe yet. Here is what I found. .........

Why are hormones used? Certain hormones can make young animals gain weight faster. They help reduce the waiting time and the amount of feed eaten by an animal before slaughter in meat industries. In dairy cows, hormones can be used to increase milk production. Thus, hormones can increase the profitability of the meat and dairy industries.

After much corporate lobbying, the FDA approved rBGH (a growth hormone) in 1994 and claims that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBGH-treated and non-rBGH treated cows. Nonetheless, many people around the world share our animal and public health concerns about using rBGH. In fact, it is banned from use in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union. Many quality companies such as Starbuck's, Ben and Jerry's, and Winder Farms choose NOT to use milk from cows treated with rBGH.

There is an ongoing debate about whether the added hormones have an effect on human health and cancer risk. Some say that the residual amount found in the foods produced are too little to make a difference. Others say they do have negative effects.

Do these hormones increase my risk for breast cancer?
An article from the Cornell University website states: “…evidence does not exist to answer this question. Use of rbGH for dairy cattle has been in practice in US for only six to seven years. Breast cancer can take many years to develop. It is too early to study the breast cancer risk of women who drink milk and eat milk products from hormone-treated animals.”