Craig Schiller (CUP) PROTEST AGAINST A TRADE POL- proposal that threatens consumers’ right pose healthy food products, more than 300 hizations dumped milk in front of Otta- onference Centre Oct. 25. The Interna- | Network on Genetically-Engineered K(INGEF) wants to ensure that people about scientific advances that are radi- changing the food we eat.

INGEF spokesperson Jeremy Rifkin says S. government “‘ismore interested in the of transnational chemical, pharmaceu- d biotech companies than they are in the health and safety of consumers in the d States, Canada andother countries d the world.”’

The Codex Alimentarius, the food arm of the United Nations andthe World h Organization, met in Ottawa Oct. 24- discuss one of the most contentious areas ernational tradepolicy: the labelling of ically-engineered food products.The ican delegation at the conference report-

edly proposedbanning such labelling alto- gether, potentially denying consumers the right

toknow what they are eating. If this proposal passes, it wouldbe binding- - any country la-: belling such prod- ucts would then : be subject to pu- nitive measures. INGEF’s protest centred around the use of recombinant bo- vine growth hor- mone in dairy cows. Treated cows are able to give 25 per cent more milk, but according to INGEF, they also suffer from severe udder infections, reproduc- tive disorders, leg problems and premature death. Antibiotics used to treat the infections

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enetic engineering in cows affects milk

show up in the milk, as do unusually high levels of pus and Insulin Growth Factor-1, which has been linked, when present in high doses, to cancer in hu- mans.

The group also suggests that Monsanto, the pharmaceutical company which makes the hor- mone, is burying reports of hor- mone-related

Rate health problems in the U.S., which must be filedwith the Ameri- can Food and Drug Administration. According toMonsanto, the hormone is completely safe. However, in the autumn 1994 issue of Canadian Perspectives, Alex Boston of the Council of

i

_——

Canadians says that Monsanto is the same company that said PCBs and Agent Orange were also safe.

The growth hormone is not yet avail- able in Canada, but is under consideration. INGEF is calling for the Canadian govern- ment to withhold approval for the drug until independent long-term health studies can prove it is indeed safe. As it stands now, the hormone could be used in Canada as early as next July.

The problem has already corrected itself somewhat in the American market- place. A growing boycott of genetically-engi- neered milk by school boards and supermar- ket chains has led many producers to stop using the hormone.

Rifkin remains concerned, however, saying that ‘‘the success or failure of rBGH [the hormone] in Canada sets the stage for other products to enter the market without labels and without appropriatehealth testing.”’

Michael Mainville

(CUP) BCULAR, STRONG AND LEAN. THESE words define the modern ideal image of

Ba Ne ee

wa

EGADS... ™ ORqEOUS!

body image.

”’There’s all these figures they have to , liveupto, images they see in the movies,”’ says Guy Murray, fit- ness director at the Citadel gym and owner of a personal training company in Ottawa. Murray says he sees new people in the gym everyday, mostly between 16 and 20 years old,

whose only purpose in working out is to

*‘get big.” : Steroids are = quickly becoming one

le body. The new state-of-the-art phy- 1s displayed everywhere: billboards, €tcials, music videos and magazines. €w man is primed for Saturday night, : nfident, he’s attractive and he’s invul- e.

Stereotypical images of the male sex ol are nothing new. But the worst problem Oday’s incarnations is that in attempt to © them, men face serious physical and logicalconsequences. Steroids, once in Xclusive domain of elite athletes, have “© a tool for those who aspire to the Physique. According to a 1993 study Ssioned by the Canadian Centre for Free Sport, about 83,000 Canadians-- €ntirely male-- between the ages of 11 8 use steroids, and nearly half of those ae solely concerned with improving

of the most popular ways to do this. Two types

are commonly used, anabolic and corticotrophic,with anabolic steroids being the most popular. Bothare syntheticderivatives of the male hormone testosterone.

Steroids help increase fluid inside the muscle cell and increase muscle protein. More fluid and protein work to shorten muscle recovery time which allows for more frequent workouts. As a result the user is therefore stronger and body mass can increase more quickly. Steroids are generally used on ani- mals by veterinarians to aid in the healing process of animal muscle tissue. They work quickly when combined with wei ghtlifting to build muscle. Users can usually see changes

in body mass and strength within afew weeks. _

Itis this quick-fix solution that explains much of the popularity of steroid use.

sing steroids for cosmetic reasons

Murray saysa lot of people, not seeing the results they wantimmediately from working out, turn to steroids for a fast answer.

They don’t care about the end result,’ he says, ‘“They shut themselves off to it. They just want to be big.’

However, steroid use commonly leads to prolific outbreaks of acne on the upper back, baldness, shrunken testicles, changes in sexual drive, heavier beards and depression. Prolonged use can increase the chance of any number of physical problems, from heart disease to liver failure.

Once someone decides to use steroids, Murray says it’s not that difficult to get them.

You go to the right gym enough times and the next thing you know, you’ve got what you need.”’

Murray says he’s worried because the use of steroids for cosmetic reasons among young people is on the rise.

Dr. Arthur Blouin, an Ottawa psycholo- gist who is studying thesimilarities between steroid use and eating disorders, agrees.Blouin says media pressure and changing norms have led to theincreasing use of steroids among young people. ‘‘Inorder tobe acceptable to themselves, to see themselves asa happy person, they must be muscular, lean and big.”’

According to Blouin, media pressure is so high that it can make people forget the dangers of using steroids. The physical dangers are well-documented. Blouin says the psycho- logical dangers, which haven’t received enough attention, are as much of a problem.He says steroid use escalates into a whole series of psychologicalproblems like increased aggres- siveness, a delusional sense of invulnerability

and psychological dependency on the drug. These problems can include frequent rages

and a psychosis called the ‘‘superman com-

plex.”’

He says the ‘‘superman complex”’ is a state in which users become almost delusional with the sense of invulnerability that comes about after prolonged use of steroids. In extreme cases the increased aggressiveness and delusions can lead to violence.

Blouin says even if users quit taking the drugs, the problems may continue. He says 25 to 30 per cent of people who stop usingsteroids experience strong feelings of depression. The final and possibly most seri- ous risk involved in steroid use is the same danger with any illegal drug-- users cannot be sure if drugs bought on the street are pure.

Often, says Murray, black-market ster- oids are mixed or “‘cut’’ with other substances toimprove dealers’ profits. Ina Marchraid on a dealer’s home, Vancouver police seized anabolic steroids that were mixed with Ar- mour-All, a protectant and cleaner for mate- rials such as leather and rubber.

”*You really don’t know what you’re putting into yourself,’’ Murray says.

The Centre for Drug-Free Sport’s study showed that 3.9 per cent of 14 to 15 year olds and 5.5 per cent of high school male students 16 years old or older used anabolic steroids. That study came out almost two years ago. Many of those high school students have gone to university and many more are on the way.

The longer the image of the ideal physical man remains what it is, and the longer the media continue to inundate us with this portrait, the more young people will turn