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Milk and Honey, er Hormones
18 January 2008 - By Lisa Stein - sciam.com
Bowing to pressure from consumer advocates, Pennsylvania
officials have dropped plans to bar farmers from revealing whether or
not milk hails from hormone-enhanced cows. The state's agriculture
department on Thursday issued new guidelines that allow dairies to
label milk so that customers know if it was produced from cows pumped
with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) also known as
recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST).
The move comes less than two weeks before a February 1 ban was set to
take effect that would have barred dairies in the Keystone State from
slapping certain labels on milk products, including "from cows not
treated with growth hormone rBST'' and "free of artificial growth
hormones."
''This is a victory for free speech, free markets, sustainable farming
and the consumer's right to know," Michael Hansen, a senior scientist
with the Consumers Union (CU), said about the state's about-face.
"Consumers increasingly want to know more about how their food is
produced and, particularly, whether it is produced in a natural and
sustainable manner. There is no justification for prohibiting
information about rBGH use on a milk label.''
He added that the state should be applauded for "realizing that its
initial regulation prohibiting such labeling was flawed and for
reversing its position.''
The fabricated hormone, marketed by agricultural giant Monsanto, is a
synthetic version of a natural one found in cows and is
designed to boost their milk output by a gallon or more daily.
Consumers in recent years have increasingly gone organic, seeking
brands of milk from dairies that nix artificial hormones. According to
Consumers Union, use of the faux growth agent has been
declining in recent years, dipping from 22.3 percent of all U.S. dairy
cows in 2002 to 17.2 percent last year.
| Comment: This is not
the type of hormone you would want to paint your walls with, in
fact, it is quite dangerous. |
The Food and Drug Administration has ruled that the synthetic
hormone is safe, but not all experts agree. The CU and other
health advocates in this country and abroad are wary of its potential
effects on humans, and its use is prohibited
in Canada and the European Union.
| Comment: The FDA
will say anything they want whether it is true or not and when
journalists use their rhetoric, it makes you wonder. |
Many farmers in Pennsylvania and other states have vowed not to use
rBGH in their milk products, a claim which in some cases
fetches higher prices. The new rules will allow them to continue
advertising their fare as free of artificial hormones, but requires
them to document their claims--a safeguard applauded by consumer
advocates. (Dairies are barred from labeling milk as containing no
growth hormones, because cows produce some naturally.)
| Comment: It is not a
claim. It is what they want. I don't approve of screwing
propositions together is such a manner. The claim is to the fact
that using synthetic drugs in animals so we can drink their juices
does not necessarily make the farmers more money. If you look at
genetic pollution which is becoming rampart, you will see that in
most cases, Monsanto removes the livelihoods of farmers where ever
they invade to pocket more cash. |
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, was
among a coalition of some 65 organizations that sent a letter to
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell protesting the proposed label ban. In
a statement released Thursday, he said "The public has a right to
complete information about how the milk they buy is produced."
The coalition is currently fighting similar bans that are being
mulled by other states, including Washington State, Missouri and
Ohio.
| Comment: Monsanto is
the one who is mulling in other states. This should be clear.
Mull: origin unknown, reference to
distractibility, stubbornness, obstinacy |
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