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THE "SCIENCE" OF INDUSTRY 297
anticarcinogen was similarly absurd. However, the end results of the
mice research sounded pretty good to people who don't know this
methodology (including most scientists).
Airport Club member Michael Pariza headed the research that stud-
ied CLA in some detail.^13 - 1S Later, at Roswell Park Memorial Institute
for Cancer Research in Buffalo, a very good researcher and his group
extended the research still further and demonstrated that it did more
than merely block the first step in the formation of tumors. CLA also
appeared to slow down subsequent tumor growth 16 , 17 when fed after
the carcinogen, This was a more convincing finding of the anticancer
properties of CLA than the initial studies,ll, 12 which showed only an
inhibition of tumor initiation.
Regardless of how promising these mouse and cow studies were be-
coming, this research remained two major steps removed from human
cancer, First, it had not been shown that cow's milk containing CLA,
as a whole food (as opposed to the isolated chemical CLA), prevents
cancer in mice. Second, even if such an effect existed in mice, it would
need to be confirmed in humans. In fact, as has been discussed earlier
in this book, if cow's milk has any effect at all, it has been shown to in-
crease, not decrease, cancer. The far more Significant nutrient in milk is
protein, whose potent cancer-promoting properties are consistent with
the human data,
In other words, to make any health claims regarding CLA in milk
and its effect on human cancer would require unreasonably large leaps
of faith, But never doubt the tenacity (i.e., money) of those who would
like to have the public believe that cow's milk prevents cancer. Lo and
behold, a recent front-page headline in our local newspaper, the Ithaca
Journal, stated "Changing Cows' Diets Elevates Milk's Cancer-Fight-
ing."lB This article concerned the studies of a Cornell professor who was
instrumental in the development of bovine growth hormone now fed to
cows. He showed that he could increase CLA in cow's milk by feeding
the animals more corn oil.
The IthacaJournal article, although only in a local, hometown news-
paper, really was a dream come true for the sponsors of The Airport
Club. The headline delivers a powerful but very simple message to the
public: drinking milk reduces cancer risk I know that media people
like punchy statements so, initially, I suspected that the reporter had
made claims beyond what the researchers had said. But in the article the
enthusiasm expressed by Professor Bauman for the implications for this