Bovine leukemia virus linked to breast cancer
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Just wanted to share this information so people can do their own research, and be aware when making their food choices.
Scientific/medical reports below show evidence of a link between bovine (cattle/dairy) leukemia and breast cancer. Link 4 below indicates after study, 92.4% of all dairy/cattle herds in the U.S. have at least 1 cow/bull with the leukemia virus. There is concern when dairy products or beef is ingested it can get into the bloodstream and cause breast cancer, or the possibility of other cancers. Whether the milk has been pasteurized or not doesn't seem to make a difference.
https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-019-3891-9
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39834-7
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29266207/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6252197/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/vmi/2018/5831278/
Other major dairy producing countries that have not implemented large-scale eradication programs, including Canada, Argentina, Japan, and China, have also reported BLV prevalence in their dairy herds of 30-50%. In contrast, 19 member states of the European Union, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia have completely eradicated BLV from their dairy cow populations, and control programs are underway in the remaining member states of the EU resulting in an overall herd prevalence in the EU of less than one percent
It looks like cheese imported from Europe, the UK (including Ireland) and Australia/New Zealand is safe to eat, but cheese from the U. S. and Canada is not.
This is the best link of all for information about the Bovine Leukemia virus, from Michigan State University. It has numerous statistics and research, with concern that the U.S. Dairy Industry is not doing all it can to eradicate it.
Edited 2024 - previous link for Michigan State University's Bovine Leukemia website is not working, but has been archived at:
https://web.archive.org/web/20181106185551/http://blv.msu.edu/index.html -
LadyLeslie wrote:
Just wanted to share this information so people can do their own research, and be aware when making their food choices.
Scientific/medical reports below show evidence of a link between bovine (cattle/dairy) leukemia and breast cancer. Link 4 below indicates after study, 92.4% of all dairy/cattle herds in the U.S. have at least 1 cow/bull with the leukemia virus. There is concern when dairy products or beef is ingested it can get into the bloodstream and cause breast cancer, or the possibility of other cancers. Whether the milk has been pasteurized or not doesn't seem to make a difference.
https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-019-3891-9
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39834-7
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29266207/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6252197/
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/vmi/2018/5831278/
Other major dairy producing countries that have not implemented large-scale eradication programs, including Canada, Argentina, Japan, and China, have also reported BLV prevalence in their dairy herds of 30-50%. In contrast, 19 member states of the European Union, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia have completely eradicated BLV from their dairy cow populations, and control programs are underway in the remaining member states of the EU resulting in an overall herd prevalence in the EU of less than one percent
It looks like cheese imported from Europe, the UK (including Ireland) and Australia/New Zealand is safe to eat, but cheese from the U. S. and Canada is not.
This is the best link of all for information about the Bovine Leukemia virus, from the University of Michigan
This link, from above site, has numerous statistics and research, with concern about the U.S. Dairy Industry not doing all it can to eradicate it.
Really good information.
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Here's more research stating the belief that breast cancer, lymphoma, and other cancers can be caused by eating beef or dairy products from cattle/cows that have the bovine leukemia virus. More about the virus is in previous posts on this thread.
Bovine leukemia viral DNA found on human breast tissue is genetically related to the cattle virus
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@ladyleslie YES!
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Three points from someone who spent about a dozen years as a health and medical writer:
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While the articles I could access -- both of the Michigan State University (not University of Michigan) links would not work for me -- absolutely raise reason for suspicion, they are not proof of causation. It's always useful to remember that things may occur together without one causing the other, and do all the time. This morning, I made myself some coffee and it immediately started to rain, but that is not proof that making coffee causes rainfall. Unfortunately, equating correlation with causation is a common tactic of quacks and disinformation peddlers. Please understand that I am not -- really, really not -- saying that about anyone here; I'm just urging a level of caution. Nothing here is absolute proof, much as we'd all like to know for sure (one way or the other).
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None of us is actually doing our own research unless we're running our own clinical or laboratory studies. We're reading other people's research, which most of us do not have the background to fully assess. A certainly level of humility about things outside of our own area of expertise is always healthy.
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It does seem like this virus is costly for dairy farmers, so they have a self-interested reason to try to keep it under control. Alas, no vaccine yet exists, but it seems like all would be better off when and if one is developed.
None of this is intended to discourage anyone from erring on the side of caution. We all pick and choose among the various risks we encounter in life. Personally, I am WAY more COVID-cautious than probably 90% of the population at this point. If you feel safer avoiding U.S. beef and dairy products and you can afford the generally pricier imported stuff, go for it.
Finally, here's a review article summarizing the evidence as of when it was published in 2020. It makes a point that may be worth noting: Dairy cattle are commonly raised in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions that often facilitate the spread of disease. This suggests at least a possibility -- definitely not proven -- that products from pasture-raised, grass-fed cattle, who spend most of their time with much more air and space than those in feedlots, may be less prone to carrying this virus, though on a quick read-through I didn't see specific evidence one way or another.
Personally, not being a vegetarian or vegan but detesting needless cruelty, I have tried my best to avoid feedlot beef and dairy products anyway, and that might be a plausible option for those who can't or don't want to entirely avoid domestic products. Happily, I live in a place with lots of local, grass-fed beef that's both good and reasonably priced, though equivalent dairy products don't seem to have large production here in Hawaii.
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@bruce-m Appreciate you sharing your insights, Bruce! You make some good points about overcrowded cattle herds that can spread disease. The links you sent are very informative, and good to have on this thread.
I understand medical research in a laboratory is very different than just reading up on a subject and taking notes and doing your own personal research on a topic. It's important to have information from all sources, so people can make their own informed choices, and do what's right for them.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and insights!
Edited to add: Thank you also @bruce-m for letting me know about the links that are no longer working, and that some of the reports are from Michigan State University, not the University of Michigan. Will make those corrections.