In this letter, submitted by Dr Tod Collins, he explains why farmers use recombinant somatotropin (rBST), a protein injected into dairy cows to increase milk production, and why this is wrongly assumed to be a hormone. rBST, says Collins, is being used as a “political-economic-marketing football” in South Africa and abroad.
Collins was a practising veterinarian, serving primarily the livestock and dairy industries, for 50 years. He is now a livestock consultant. His family also runs a dairy farm in Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal, and he serves in a managerial position on a heifer-rearing farm.
“Before I expose this rotten bit of public deception, people must understand the background,” says Collins.
