Don’t Skimp on Milk Labeling : Just tell consumers whether it’s from cows that were fed biotech hormones

Dairy cows, with the blessing of the Food and Drug Administration, are becoming “supercows.” Farmers may inject them with a genetically engineered version of a natural growth hormone that prompts a milk production increase of up to 20%. The FDA says the milk is indistinguishable from that of untreated cows and thus no safety issue exists. Large dairy farmers find the product, developed by Monsanto Corp., a boon that will reduce milk prices to consumers worldwide. The U.S. biotech industry sees an enormous new market. And fatherly former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop assures us it’s perfectly safe.

But not everyone is happy. One acknowledged side effect of the product, known as recombinant bovine somatotropin, is an increase in udder infections, requiring more use of antibiotics, which, even if no traces are left in the milk, can contribute to overall bacterial drug resistance. In addition, some scientists are unwilling to accept the FDA’s interpretation of test data on the absolute safety of the biotech hormone.

So consumers should just make their own decisions as to what kind of milk to drink, right? Well, that’s not easy. Currently, labeling is scarce; indeed, milk companies that tried simple labels saying that their milk and cheese come from untreated cows find themselves being sued by the growth hormone’s manufacturer. And the FDA’s proposed “guidelines” on labeling are anything but helpful.

The agency invites each state to make its own label laws. And the label itself, says the FDA, can’t be just, “This milk comes from cows not treated with genetically engineered hormones.” It has to include disclaimers saying there’s no detectable difference from untreated milk, that the producer is not implying anything about quality or safety, and on and on. This is ridiculous.

While the FDA is still pondering the final guidelines, here’s our advice: Require a label that’s brief and clear to those of us who may lack a Ph.D. in biology. A competently done federal model for the label would give legal cover to the firms that use it and probably would be accepted by the states. And that would reassure milk drinkers.