Abstract
The proposed use of bovine somatotropin (BST) to increase milk yields in cows raises several issues, including ones of ethics, economics and environmental concern, as well as both human and veterinary health. This paper considers those issues, including the ethics of using a drug that benefits neither cow nor consumer. The paucity of experimental evidence on safety, indeed on whether BST is absorbed at all by humans, and therefore what effect it might have on human health, are all addressed.
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