Bovine Growth Hormone:

One of the seven /eight forms of waste (per Toyota) is Overproduction. It’s frustrating to me that the U.S. government supports overproduction of milk.

“Today, the United States is already in a state of mass overproduction of milk and milk products, particularly in the form of butter. ‘From 1980 to 1985, total US milk production increased 11.5 percent (15 billion pounds) despite a 2.3 decline in average farm price.’ The government currently buys this surplus of milk with public dollars in order to sustain the price of milk and to keep farmers in business. An increase in milk production exacerbates the existing milk surplus, driving down prices, and making it more difficult for the small or middle-sized dairy farmers to stay in business. ‘According to the governments own study, it will cost taxpayers over $500 million in increased milk support prices because the drug will flood the already drowning milk market, where the government supports prices.’”

The additional use of growth hormone exacerbates the problem — leading to more overproduction, which is disturbing (even if not considering the health and environmental impact of the hormone usage).

About LeanBlog.org: Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology, focused on improving quality and patient safety, improving access, reducing costs, and fully engaging healthcare professionals. He is also the Chief Improvement Officer for KaiNexus.