| Joe,
I'm not about to get into an aggressive argument with you over this since I understand why this is a highly emotive issue. However, in the interest in remaining on good terms, I would like to clarify a few things from my last post.
With reference to older diabetics having to adjust to new insulin types - it's an established fact that synthetic insulin is more aggressive and faster acting than animal-derived insulin. Therefore, anyone who transfers from animal to synth is highly likely to experience problems. Most people know how much insulin they generally need to take depending on the situation, you get a 'feel' for how it works. I realise this doesn't sound particularly scientific but in talking to other people with diabetes and my care team it seems that the majority of people who've had diabetes for a while do have these impressions. Once you move to an insulin which works differently, all your estimates you used to live by are wrong, which is where the problem starts. For the record though, I don't think I ever suggested that everyone should be transferred to human insulin, everyone should stay on whatever works for them, and I will concede that IDDT have a point when it comes to the commerical pressure made by pharmaceutical companies.
As for the production of animal insulin, I don't for one minute think that they walk into the farms with a great big bottle and needle. I think the idea is as ridiculous as 'Frankenstein' insulin or food, or the scientist bogeyman that the right-wing press try to create. The reason I set forward such a daft idea is because I felt it complimented perfectly the mindset of 'it's GM so it must be bad'.
I'd argue that all newly diagnosed T1s should at least be tried on human insulin first to see if it's ok for them. There are a lot of ethical concerns raised by the use of animal insulins. What do vegitarian or vegan diabetics do? What about Muslims or Jews who cannot eat pork? Are animal insulins therefore suitable for them? Synth insulin is also cheaper to mass produce, so the more people are on it, the more the NHS can save and therefore spend the money on other resources. However, I don't think anyone should be moved between insulins for the sake of it, it should be demonstrated that they'll have significantly better control, and there is, at the moment, still a genuine need for animal derived insulins.
I still stand by my comments on the IDDT since I (rightly or wrongly) get a very strong impression that they believe all human insulin is bad. They state that they believe there should be a wide range of insulins available but I've yet to see anything on-site that's positive about human insulin. You say that human insulin nearly killed you. I appreciate why you are so concerned. However, I would like to point out that human insulin saved my life, and although animal derived insulins would have done the same, the fact remains for me that I still feel very attached to my Humalog, probably as much as you feel attached to your previous insulin treatment.
I still think that Lantus is an unknown issue though, and I am more than happy to help you in the research you've currently been doing on this. I apologise if I've offended you in any way and I hope that we can work together it getting our best possible treatments.  | 
