Cows with Human milk??? Guh.. Genetically modified animals!!! Next?

Philothei · #1 11th June 2011, 08:02 PM

Human Breast Milk From a Cow? Genetically Modified Milk Could Hit Stores In 3 Years | Food, Dining & Drinks News @Signature9

I think personally this is gross and also unethical as God made man in His image and likeness...He did not make cows with the intent to have human milk...

Also Argentina's scientists just now discovered the same and plan to use these cows for production.

What is next? Pigs with genetically modified meat that tastes like beef? guh!!

Gregorios · #2 11th June 2011, 08:26 PM

I'm in favor of things that help quality of life for people and even extend life, but there has to be a line in stuff like this, and this crosses that line I think.

Virgil the Roman · #3 11th June 2011, 09:26 PM

God made man in His image. He created the beasts of the earth as they are; that is to say, not to create human breast-milk. It is not within our rights to alter what the creator has made in so radically a way such as this. It debases the dignity of Motherhood. A mother feeding her infant shares a unique bond; this is just one amongst many of the supposed "advances" in society, that rather than being truly beneficial it is rather de-humanising. Novelties such as this frighten me; as it shows how truly debasing and soul-less society is geared towards and has already become. It is very unethical to do this.

kiwimac · #4 11th June 2011, 09:52 PM

I can think of a number of Good reasons to do something like this and only one of them is to provide access to human breast milk for those children whose mothers cannot produce it, moreover, it is unlikely that this kind of milk would become contaminated as per the milk powder incident in China.

This is neither unethical nor immoral [i]per se.[//]

Thekla · #5 11th June 2011, 10:36 PM

Originally Posted by kiwimac

I can think of a number of Good reasons to do something like this and only one of them is to provide access to human breast milk for those children whose mothers cannot produce it, moreover, it is unlikely that this kind of milk would become contaminated as per the milk powder incident in China.

This is neither unethical nor immoral [i]per se.[//]

I must register my adamant disagreement.

1. As Paul says, there are different "flesh" for different creatures. Each created thing has a particular created identity or "isness".
Thus consider: which farming method respects the God-given "isness" of the chicken - factory farm, or free range ?
(See the movie, available on Youtube, "Fresh, the Movie")

2. Fragments of the fetus's genes have been found circulating in the mother's blood up to 10 years following a completed pregnancy. Fetal fragments have also been found in tumors that developed years after successfully completed (ie compatible) pregnancy. What are the potential risks of introducing potentially non-compatible human genes into the immature digestive system of an infant ?

3. Where the ability to nurse is compromised, both wet-nursing and more recently milk banks (both donated and for pay) have been used. Fully human milk is superior to partial human milk. IE, there are other options.

4. The introduction of formula feeding has historically had a disastrous effect in poor regions. Formula is expensive, clean water is hard to come by, and the raw materials for sterilizing water and receptacles are often scarce or additionally beyond a family's means. Once a woman's milk 'dries up', it can be very difficult to fully relactate, thus the disease risk and expense (which typically leads to diluted feeds and under-nutrition) remain for the duration of the feeding window.

5. 25 years ago, most women worldwide (per my doctor) breastfed for 4 years. This offered disease protection and nutrition for the child during its most vulnerable years. And also, this meant wet-nurses were more available for those who needed them.
The likelihood that modified formula - given the expense - will be available for this time period (4 years) is low; thus the actual benefit of this milk is attenuated both by benefit dilution and years of coverage/availability.

6. Like GM seeds, this is yet another opportunity for corporations to control access to things that do not deliver as promised, are more expensive than reported (see the suicide rate of farmers in India using Bt cotton). Further, GM corps have been slow to fully study and report on the realities of their product. Bt was supposedly digestible; it has been found circulating in the human blood stream. Glyphosate has been found to cause birth defects, organ damage (see PubMed) as well as causing sterility in rodents. There is a developing superweed crisis, as weeds have developed resistence to RoundUp herbicide. Can we trust profit driven corporations with this milk as well ?

Thekla · #6 11th June 2011, 11:01 PM

Here is the "Democracy Now" segment on farmer suicide in India (7 min.):

YouTube - ‪India - Crushed by Debt Farmers Commit Suicide - Democracy NOW!‬&rlm;

Link to page 1 (of 17) from PubMed on Glyphosate toxicity:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?t...ate%20toxicity

and:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/tx1001749

Virgil the Roman · #7 11th June 2011, 11:07 PM

Profit-driven super-corporation cannot be trust in this matter. They look not to our health but to line their own pockets. Their avarice has no limitations; profit is paramount above all to them.

kiwimac · #8 11th June 2011, 11:33 PM

Skepticism is OK, calling something unethical because you find it "icky" is not.

chris4243 · #9 11th June 2011, 11:50 PM

Originally Posted by Virgil the Roman

God made man in His image.

God did indeed make man in His image, and God is a creator and so is man. Just wondering, do you folks also think it a terrible thing that we have created organisms that make human insulin? And is it really that terrible that people want to improve the nutrition babies receive (for those who give their baby cow milk)?

Thekla · #10 12th June 2011, 12:00 AM

Bt Fragments in human blood:

Toxin from GM crops found in human blood: Study : North: India Today

GMOs linked to organ disruption in 19 studies:

Results Several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of GMO diet effects in the above-mentioned experiments. This was confirmed by our meta-analysis of all the in vivo studies published, which revealed that the kidneys were particularly affected, concentrating 43.5% of all disrupted parameters in males, whereas the liver was more specifically disrupted in females (30.8% of all disrupted parameters).
Conclusions

The 90-day-long tests are insufficient to evaluate chronic toxicity, and the signs highlighted in the kidneys and livers could be the onset of chronic diseases. However, no minimal length for the tests is yet obligatory for any of the GMOs cultivated on a large scale, and this is socially unacceptable in terms of consumer health protection. We are suggesting that the studies should be improved and prolonged, as well as being made compulsory, and that the sexual hormones should be assessed too, and moreover, reproductive and multigenerational studies ought to be conducted too.

Environmental Sciences Europe | Full text | Genetically modified crops safety assessments: present limits and possible improvements