of igf-1 in rbst-treated cows, but this claim is currently not substantiated. in addition, no current evidence shows that orally consumed igf-1 is absorbed in humans and the dietary amount is negligible when compared to what the body produces on its own. "igf-1 in milk is not denatured (inactivated) by pasteurization. the extent to which intact, active igf-1 is absorbed through the human digestive tract remains uncertain." the american cancer society has reviewed the evidence concerning igf-1 in milk from rbst-treated cows, and found that: "while there may be a link between igf-1 blood levels and cancer, the exact nature of this link remains unclear. some studies have shown that adults who drink milk have about 10% higher levels of igf-1 in their blood than those who drink little or no milk. but this same finding has also been reported in people who drink soy milk. this suggests that the increase in igf-1 may not be specific to cow's milk, and may be caused by protein, minerals, or some other factors in milk unrelated to rbgh. there have been no direct comparisons of igf-1 levels in people who drink ordinary cow's milk vs. milk stimulated by rbst. at this time, it is not clear that drinking milk, produced with or without rbst treatment, increases blood igf-1 levels into a range that might be of concern regarding cancer risk or other health effects. igf-1 concentrations are slightly higher (to variable degrees, depending on the study) in milk from cows treated with rbst than in untreated milk. this variability is presumed to be much less than the normal range of variation of igf-1 in cow's milk due to natural factors, but more research is needed." research is supportive of milk supplying vital nutrients used in childhood development. as of 2014, evidence does not link rbst-treated milk with adverse health outcomes for children. several studies have looked at the relationship between type 1 diabetes mellitus and infant feeding. environmental triggers that may elicit an autoimmune reaction is the mechanism in which is being studied. some studies have shown early exposure to bovine milk may predispose an infant to type 1 diabetes, whereas other studies show no causality. the american society of animal science published an article in 2014 after reviewing health issues arising from the rbst debate. the article indicated "there are no new human health issues related to the use of rbst by the dairy industry. use of rbst has no effect on the micro- and macrocomposition of milk. also, no evidence exists that rbst use has increased human exposure to antibiotic residues in milk. concerns that igf-1 present in milk could have biological effects on humans have been allayed by studies showing that oral consumption of igf-1 by humans has little or no biological activity. additionally, concentrations of igf-1 in digestive tract fluids of humans far exceed any igf-1 consumed when drinking milk. furthermore, chronic supplementation of cows with rbst does not increase concentrations of milk igf-1 outside the range typically observed for effects of farm, parity, or stage of lactation. use of rbst has not affected expression of retroviruses in cattle or posed an increased risk to human health from retroviruses in cattle. furthermore, risk for development of type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus has not increased in children or adults consuming milk and dairy products from rbst-supplemented cows. overall, milk and dairy products provide essential nutrients and related benefits in health maintenance and the prevention of chronic diseases." keeping in mind that bovine somatotropin is a protein growth hormone, it can increase average milk yield anywhere from 10 to 15%, which in turn would lead to cows consuming substantially more nutrients in order to keep up with the increased milk production. most of a cow's energy consumption goes directly towards milk production. in certain areas of the world, like ethiopia where this was studied extensively, as the cows needed to intake more nutrition to balance out their milk production, there was also an increased level of chemical fertilizers and heavy metal traces found in the milk due to increased exposure to agricultural chemicals. these chemicals can then easily be passed on to humans and lead to a contaminated milk supply. bst increases the longevity or the activity of the mammary cell leading to higher milk production and some other non-desirable side effects. despite public controversy of the use of growth hormones in food-producing animals, the number of violations has decreased substantially in the past two decades. for comparison, the level of antibiotic-residue detected in bulk milk tank trucks in 2012 was one fifth the level that it was in 1996. as reported by the usda, the us pattern for milk btscc declined steadily from 316,000 cells per ml of milk in 2001 to 224,000 cells/ml in 2010 and 206,000 cells/ml in 2011 (usda, 2013). mammary health in the animals themselves has improved over this time period as well as the overall health of the dairy herd in general. this is mostly attributed to better application methods of rbst and a better understanding of how the hormone affects the animals. environmental impact on an industry level, supplementing one million cows with rbst would result in the same amount of milk produced while needing 157,000 fewer cows. farmers are, therefore, able to improve milk production with a smaller dairy population. some studies show that rbst-treated cows reduce the greenhouse gas footprint in comparison with conventional and organic dairy operations. cady's study showed that excretion of nitrogen and phosphorus, two major environmental pollutants arising from animal agriculture, was reduced by 9.1 and 11.8%, respectively. carbon dioxide is recognized to be the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, and livestock metabolism and fossil fuel consumption are the main sources of emissions from animal agriculture. livestock metabolism-use of rbst in lactating cows decreases the quantity of energy and protein needed in comparison to conventional dairy operations along with reducing the total feedstuff used. fossil fuel consumption-targets atmospheric pollution and resource sustainability environmental concerns. with cows treated with rbst, producing a higher milk yield reduces the feed requirement which in turn decreases with electricity for milk production and the energy required from fossil fuels for cropping. in addition, the global warming potential is reduced equivalent to removing 400,000 family cars from the road. when conventional, conventional with rbst, and organic dairy operations are compared, 8% fewer cows are needed in an rbst-supplemented population, whereas organic production systems require a 25% increase to meet production targets. this is due to a lower milk yield per cow due to the pasture-based system which is attributed with a greater maintenance energy expenditure associated with grazing behavior.: 20–21 lawsuit against wtvt in 1997, the news division of wtvt (channel 13), a fox-owned station in tampa, florida, planned to air an investigative report by steve wilson and jane akre on the health risks associated with monsanto's bovine growth hormone product, posilac. just before the story was to air, fox received a letter from monsanto saying the reporters were biased and that the story would damage the company. akre stated that wilson and she went through 83 rewrites over eight months. negotiations broke down and both reporters were eventually fired. wilson and akre alleged the firing was for retaliation, while wtvt contended they were fired for insubordination. the reporters then sued fox/wtvt in florida state court under the state's whistleblower statute. in 2000, a florida jury found that while no evidence showed fox/wtvt had bowed to any pressure from monsanto to alter the story, akre, but not wilson, was a whistleblower and was unjustly fired. she was awarded a $425,000 settlement. at the time of the decision, "the station claimed it did not bend to monsanto's letter and wanted to air a hard-hitting story with a number of statements critical of monsanto." fox appealed the decision stating that under florida law, a whistleblower can only act if "a law, rule, or regulation" has been broken and argued that the fcc's policy against distortions or misrepresentations presented as news did not fit that definition. on 14 february 2003, the appeals court overturned the verdict, finding that akre was not a whistleblower because of the florida "legislature's requirement that agency statements that fit the definition of a "rule" (must) be formally adopted (rules). recognizing an uncodified agency policy developed through the adjudicative process as the equivalent of a formally adopted rule is not consistent with this policy, and it would expand the scope of conduct that could subject an employer to liability beyond what florida's legislature could have contemplated when it enacted the whistle-blower's statute." regulation use of the recombinant supplement has been controversial. the assessment of the fda is that there is no significant difference between milk from treated and untreated cows. twenty-one other countries have also approved marketing of rbst: brazil, chile, colombia, costa rica, ecuador, egypt, guatemala, honduras, jamaica, lebanon, mexico, panama, paraguay, peru, salvador, south africa, south korea, uruguay, and venezuela. however, regulatory bodies in several countries, such as canada, japan, pakistan, australia, new zealand, and argentina, along with the eu, rejected monsanto's application to sell rbst because rbst increases the risk of health problems in cows, including mastitis, reduced fertility, and reduced body condition. in canada, bulk milk products from the united states that have been produced with rbst are still allowed to be sold and used in food manufacture (cheese, yogurt, etc.) due to loopholes in the ingredient labelling system. in 1990, the eu placed a moratorium on its sale by all member nations. it was turned into a permanent ban starting from 1 january 2000; the decision was based solely on veterinary concerns, laws, and treaties. an in-depth report published in 1999 analysed in detail the various human health risks associated with rbst. canada's health board, health canada, refused to approve rbst for use on canadian dairies, citing concerns over animal health. the study found the occurrence of an antibody reaction, possible hypersensitivity, in a subchronic (90-day) study of rbst oral toxicity in rats that resulted in one test animal's developing an antibody response at low dose (0.1 mg/kg/day) after 14 weeks. however, the board stated, with the exception of concerns raised regarding hypersensitivity, "the panel finds no biologically plausible reason for concern about human safety if rbst were to be approved for sale in canada." the codex alimentarius commission, a united nations body that sets international food standards, has, as of 2017, refused to approve rbst as safe. the codex alimentarius does not have authority to ban or approve the hormone, but its decisions are regarded as a standard and approval by the codex would have allowed exporting countries to challenge countries with a ban on rbst before the world trade organization. abuse on dairy farms recombinant bovine somatotropin is an artificially synthesized form of the bovine growth hormone. it is legal for use as an artificial cattle lactation stimulant in several countries, including the us. however, its use is prohibited in most of europe for reasons of consumer preference, animal well-being, and skepticism of new technology. farmers who opt to use the synthetic hormone do so because they believe it increases milk production without other inputs. however, concerns of both product safety and livestock abuse have prompted discussions for new methods in assaying the levels of dairy cattle rbst. one proposed method involves quantifying the presence or absence of the rbst-binding antibody in serum. however, this method would require blood samples to be taken regularly and is thus considered by some critics to be too invasive. the development of other alternative methods continues to undergo development. one such example, tested by w.w. thatcher at the university of florida, involves collecting milk samples from the cows and analyzing them directly for the presence of the rbst antibody. dairy cattle do respond to the rbst antigen and have shown positive results in immunosorbent trials on milk samples. tests involving pasteurized milk samples have even shown consistent results, with immunoglobulin rbst still detectable and distinguishable despite other antibodies remaining present. research on the viability of this new technique, as well as many others, as a means of monitoring the levels of rbst in dairy cattle continues to be an issue of practicality, profitability, and humaneness towards livestock in the dairy industry. united states in 1993,