The Claim: Hormones in Milk Cause Early Puberty

NY Times ^ | March 8, 2005 | ANAHAD O'CONNOR

[WV Mountain Mama]

I hear ya, we have 2 boys and a little girl. My husband and I are almost dreading when our daughter hits the teen years (she is only 4 months). I will definitely lead by example. I don't understand why clothing companies can't make classy and trendy clothes. Of course, I also don't understand how the poptart singers can justify making millions of dollars off of kids and not feel somewhat obligated to be a role model.

[Crusher138]

I'm beginning to think that many have somewhat warped memories of their youth.

I have a distinct memory of going back to school at the start of seventh grade (I would have been 12) and being SHOCKED at the number of girls that...developed...over the summer.

A few years later, when I was 16, I was spending the night with some friends in North Carolina before summer camp started. They introduced me to Mary. We hit it off on sight, as only teenagers can do. They caught us necking that evening. My friends, laughing, accused me of robbing the cradle. I was incredulous, so I asked Mary how old she was and she sheepishly answered, "Twelve." Mary was blessed with, uh, assets, that would have been the pride of any Playmate.

[bigsigh]

Is it still illegal to put it on a carton when there are no hormones in the milk?

[Nowhere Man]

I remember this being discussed 20 or more years ago about hormones in the milk supply. IIRC, there was cases attributed to hormones in milk that caused some boys to develop breasts.

[Nowhere Man]

A few years ago, I happened to drive by my old highschool (I graduated a LONG time ago). I thought the place had been turned into a junior college. For a FACT girls were not so well-developed when I was younger.

My wife's cousin is 14 y/o. She has often been guessed as 21.

It may not be growth hormones in the food supply, but something is different....

I see what you mean, I graduated high school in 1985 and it seems different to what I remember. Heck, when I see an attractive girl that looks over 18 but later determine that she is like 12 or 13, I do a double take. I feel a bit embarrased to myself, feeling like a "dirty old man" (well I'll be 39, to them I would be old) but you're right, it seems like kids grow up faster not only the world we live in but what we feed them.

[Maverick32984]

I work as an adult leader in my church's youth group. One of the girls who regularly come is very developed and I asked her in conversation,

"How old are you? 16?" She remarked that she was only 12.

Now us leaders have to keep an eye out for her because all the boys in our group are all over her because of her size and her young age.

[Maverick32984]

I forgot to add, she isn't obesse either. She's quite thin.

[Maverick32984]

I forgot to add, she isn't obesse. She's quite thin.

[neverdem]

Is it still illegal to put it on a carton when there are no hormones in the milk?

Put what? I believe Congress passed laws for labels to be accurate and truthful.

[bigsigh]

There were threads here and new stories that in some states milk producers were prohibited from saying hormone-free on their labels. Monsanto has lobbied for these restrictions so that people will not make a big deal of the hormone they developed.

Perhaps someone will come along with more info.

[angcat]

Be prepared girls are more emotional than boys! LOL
This week I found out my 10 year old knows some things I did not expect her to be even thinking about! It was a rude awakening for me. :)

[KneelBeforeZod]

Good point.... especially since blacks tend to be lactose intolerant...and avoid milk lots of times.

That reminds me... I went on a tour of europe. There was a black family with us...mom dad, (in their late 40s) and their parents and a cousin I think. Those euros love their dairy and almost every day breakfast was cheese, yogurt, different yogurt, and some other cheeses... so most of the time there was almost nothing they could eat! Poor guys.

[mother22wife21]

It was marvelous compared to what the milk did to her. And we love those Dr. Brown bottles too.
My only complaint with the soy, and it really had no bearing on our use, but it sure did smell icky. *smile*

[mother22wife21]

*grin* My husband and I both agree that the fashion trend of wearing pants with words on the rear end is not in the best interests of the girl on many levels. I find it in poor taste to intentionally draw attention to a young girl's rear end in such a manner.

My husband agrees but puts it in a different way. He notes that we are a society that is encouraged to read little snippet ads everywhere. If he sees a word in front of him he's going to read it, then he realizes he's been looking at a 12 year old rear end intently for a second or so, and feels like a 'dirty old man' too. I think it is very manipulative. I find myself, who I know has no interest in young bottoms, when out shopping or at the mall reading the literature as it walks by.

[you try farming]

I wish that before everyone got all worked up on here they would get some facts correct. First of all BST is not illegal for use in the dairy industry, and has had some extensive test run on it proving no bad side effects on humans, after all it occurs naturally anyhow. Second the person that said growth hormones used in live stock don't hurt people because they are proteins and are broken down during digestion is right, so that should not really be an issue. Third dairy farmers don't use that many growth hormones anyway, think about it, they're not trying to bulk up animals are they? No I guess you don't need dairy products for a healthy diet... guess god messed up giving mammals mammary glands then huh? Finally I'm confused, I don't know what to eat anymore (insert sarcasm here), the meat and milk are full of hormones, the vegetables are treated with fertilizers and pesticides, so you say eat organic, but they fertilize with manure... heck i don't want to eat crap... so I guess I'll just have to die, don't see any other way around it, but please bury me in an environmentally sound manner, I don't want to piss off the tree huggers.