Since approving the use of rBGH in 1993, the FDA has turned a deaf ear to the pleas of consumers, food safety organizations and scientists to reverse its approval of the hormone, or to simply require labeling of foods containing rBGH. Even a legal challenge by CFS could not force FDA to reexamine the healththreats of rBGH. The FDA's decision stood despite regulatory bodies in both Canada and Europe rejecting the hormone due to numerous animal and human health concerns. 

In cows treated with rBGH, significant health problems often develop, including a 50 percent increase in the risk of lameness (leg and hoofproblems), over a 25 percent increase in the frequency of udder infections (mastitis), and serious animal reproductive problems, i.e., infertility, cystic ovaries, fetal loss and birth defects.

Because rBGH use results in more cases of mastitis, dairy farmers tend to use more antibiotics to combat the infections, the residues of which also may end up in milk and dairy products. These residues can cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals and contribute to the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria, further undermining the efficacy of some antibiotics in fighting human infections.