Farmer's Guardian (UK) | October 15, 1999
The government has asked for the EU moratorium on ther milk booster BST to be extended beyond the end of this year.
The Government to the step following advice from the Veterinary Products Committee on the latest scientific information relating to BST.
It was asked in May to consider the latest scientific information on both the human and animal safety aspects of BST and advise the government in preparation for the review of the EU's moratorium in Brussels in December.
The VPC had concluded that the treatment of dairy cows with BST, which is widely used in the US and Canada to boost milk production, was associated with with welfare problems, notably decreased decresed body condition, an incresed instance of mastitis, lameness and injection site lesions.
It also concluded the risk to human health from drinking milk from BST treated cows, although extremely small, could not be ruled out entirely in further studies.
The UK carried out 10 herd trials in 1986, which lasted up to a year, before the Conservative Government imposed a moratorium in 1993. Agriculture Minister of State Baroness Hayman said she had accepted the VPC'S advice. Tome Hind, NFU's assistant dairy advisor, said the union's milk committee had voted unanimously against the lifting of the moratorium in Feb 99 and had since lobbied Government on the issue.
Mr Hind welcomed the move saying that there was evidence that use of BST led to increased examples of mastitis and a rise in antibiotic resistance among dairy cows, a weakening in bone structure and an overall decrease in animal health.
All 15 member states are likely to vote against the lifting of the moratorium, which will be a further blow to Monsanto, which wants to market the product in Europe. It is used in about thirty percent of herds in the US, but there are signs of increasing resistance to it's use among US consumers.
"Consumer's perception of BST is nil and the dairy industry could ill afford another food scare" added Mr Hind.
The Union held talks with Monsanto in June, at which the life science company admitted it was unlikely the moratorium would be lifted in the light of increasing consumer mistrust. Anita Bourne, National Dairy Council spokeswoman, said the Dairy industry has been campaigning to keep the ban on animal welfare grounds."Dairy cows have to work hard enough as it is without BST.
Eiffion Evans, British Vet Association president, said there was considerable evidence that BST led to animal welfare problems in dairy cows.
