''Milk from rBST Free Cows'' Label Now Allowed On Milk in PA

I was happy to read a similar story in my local paper today but this Pitsburgh Post Gazette story is more informative. Apparently many people care about how the cows are treated and are willing to pay a premium for a more natural product.

Opponents of consumer choice point out that rBST, the artifical growth hormone marketed by Monsanto as Posilac, is not detectable in milk so it impossible to know if milk labeled "hormone free" actually came from hormone free cows. They also point to studies that suggest there are no known adverse health risks to consumers from rBST. They claim rBST just artificially boosts the level of an already existing hormone in the cow so it produces more milk and that there are no adverse side effects to the cow.

Here's my take on this.

1. There is no ban on labeling foods "No Artificial Flavors" or "No Artificial Coloring" so why should there be a ban on "milk from rBST free cows"?
2. I don't trust Monsanto.
3. I prefer food products as natural as I can get them.
4. Monsanto sucks.
5. Just because I want a more natural product and am willing to pay more for it does not mean I am acting irrationally or that I have irrational fears about this artificial hormone.
6. Even if there were zero known side effects in all cows that are injected with rBST I would not want it used because it causes cows to do something unnatural. Natural milk production does not result in INCREASED risk of these problems as printed on every POSILAC package:

(click picture to enlarge the label)

For my own benefit I am embarking on a research journey about rBST. I want to hear from scientists that don't work for Monsanto or the FDA. Why is rBST illegal in Canada, the EU and Japan? Has Monsanto been forthright with sharing their own safety studies? How did rBST come to be approved by the FDA? I realize I have not been scientifically persuasive here but common sense tells me that this stinks and we may not know why for years.

Think Local | Buy Local | Be Local

A friend just handed me a copy of the "Green Pages 2008" published by the SSBN (Susquehanna Sustainable Business Network). It contains an article I would like to post in two parts.

Why Buy Locally Owned?

According to Michael H. Shuman, author of the book Going Local:
“Going local does not mean walling off the outside world. It means nurturing locally owned businesses which use local resources sustainably,employ local workers at decent wages and serve primarily local customers. It means becoming more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports. Control moves from the boardrooms of distant corporations and back into the community where it belongs.” We realize it is not always possible to buy what you need locally and so merely ask you to think local first!

10 Reasons To Think Local — Buy Local — Be Local

1. Recirculate Money in the Neighborhood. When you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally
owned business, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms — continuing to strengthen the economic base of our community.
2. Lesson Environmental Impact. Independent businesses make purchases that use less transportation, and local businesses tend
to locate in town centers that generally contribute less to pollution,sprawl, habitat loss, and congestion. Purchasing local food and products significantly reduces air pollution by reducing the freight shipments into our community.
3. Support Nonprofits. Charities and nonprofits receive an average of 350 percent more support from local business owners than from nonlocal owners.
4. Keep Our Community Vibrant and Unique. Lancaster and York Counties have a unique blend of lovely old architecture and new, interesting, one-of-a-kind businesses. As chain stores proliferate and move into our neighborhoods, they change the character of our cities, giving them a strip-mall blandness. Economic research shows that entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their distinctive character.

Five through ten will be posted the next chance I get or you may click this post's title to go to the Green Pages 2008 directory in pdf format.

PA Consumers Can't Know if Their Milk is Hormone Free

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has banned milk companies from labeling their packaging ''rBST-free'' or ''BGH-free'' (The Morning Call, Nov. 14). Thanks to intense pressure by Monsanto Company, which manufactures artificial bovine growth hormone, the consumer is no longer allowed to make an informed decision about what kind of milk he or she wants to drink.

The sale of hormone-free milk has been on the increase, and Monsanto has responded to this consumer demand by attempting to keep the consumer in the dark. Apparently, we are not smart enough to decide what to put into our bodies.

Next, the Agriculture Department will outlaw labels that say ''preservative-free,'' lest those labels hurt the bottom-line of the chemical companies.

If Pennsylvania had meaningful lobbyist-disclosure laws, we would know whose pockets are lined with Monsanto money. I will continue to purchase rBST-free milk, despite attempts by Monsanto and the state to prohibit me from doing so.

Karen Ennis

Breinigsville

Here, here, Karen. I agree. I bet some the people leading the PA Dept. of Agriculture are former or current employees of Monsanto.

SUGGESTION: Hey, let's ask our grocery stores to advertise on their shelves which milk products are hormone free. I know there are some grocery stores that care about what their customers want. They could print it right on the price tag on the shelf.