[Extension of toxicologic evaluation standards in environmental medicine exemplified by use of bovine somatotropin (BST) in food production--an interdisciplinary study].

In food hygiene, the substances used are evaluated exclusively according to toxicological criteria. As a result of the increasing possibilities of intervention, e.g., by means of hormonal control of life processes, the question is raised as to whether the relationship in health--that of the human being to his environment--may also be affected by the use of substances in a manner other than toxicological. In the case of bovine somatotropin (BST) it is shown that external hormonal control intervenes in the organism's own regulation and correspondingly limits the capability of experiencing nonhuman subjectivity. The resulting health consequences are discussed on the basis of a semiotics of the environment which allocates a sign background to the toxicological process.