Why do 8 million women ingest horse urine?

Why Do 8 Million Women Ingest Horse Urine, Jan, 1994 by Cathleen McGuire

Hailing the expansion as a "success story," politicians and Ayerst representatives--all men--are boasting of increased employment for the area. Many farmers are eager to be accepted by Ayerst as PMU suppliers with reportedly ten applicants for every opening. Les Burwash, a Calgary horse specialist, claims, "It's a good, sound agricultural enterprise... certainly one of the real bright lights in agriculture.

What no one is bragging about, though, are the acute environmental problems resulting from the manufacturing process. The stench from the by-products is notorious. Ayerst was allowed to expand operations on condition that they build a new dumping station to eliminate the noxious animal feces and ammonia wastes. The dumping station, however, threatens to overload the city of Brandon's sewage treatment plant. This would pose serious problems for the water quality of the Assiniboine River, a source of drinking water for thousands of Canadians.

The water-soluble ammonia is also lethal to fish and other aquatic life. According to Bill Paton, a member of Manitobans Against the Assiniboine Diversion, "Ayerst already has a history of non-compliance with the Clean Environment Commission and the smell from the plant is getting worse."

Marianne Cerilli, a Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, is calling for an immediate basin-wide federal environmental assessment. Along with her outrage over the dangers to the environment, Cerilli is also alarmed about the potential health hazards facing women who take Premarin. "We should be asking just what the long-term effects of Ayerst's product will be on the environment of women's bodies."

In the 1960s, estrogen was extolled as a wonder drug. It is now known that there are links between synthetic estrogen and endometrial cancer, not to mention other "side effects." In the 1980s, another drug, progesterone, became routinely administered with estrogen to counteract cancerous effects. Proponents of Premarin cite its effectiveness for the prevention of osteoporosis and relief from vaginal dryness, hot flashes, and other menopausal concerns.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, however, estimates that only fifteen percent of women find menopause "disruptive" enough to seek "treatment." For those fifteen percent who do feel they would like help, primary questions remain: Have the full effects of Premarin been thoroughly investigated? Can we trust Ayerst's test data? Does Ayerst use lab animals as research subjects?

In response to the ethics of using Premarin, some doctors have indicated they would be willing to prescribe cruelty-free alternatives. Laboratory-made substitutes such as Estraderm (Ciba Pharmaceuticals), Estrace (Mead Johnson), and Ogen (Abbott Labs) have been recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The downside is that these lab-made synthetics are about twice as expensive, and once again, we do not know the full extent of their dangers or the degree of animal experimentation involved.