Milk Labeling

* It is simply outrageous that the State of California refuses to require labeling of milk and dairy products produced using Posilac (the brand name for recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, rBGH). The “scientific community” to which Agriculture Secretary Henry Voss refers are by and large paid lackeys of Monsanto. The scientific community has previously assured us of the safety of nuclear radiation, asbestos and tobacco, among other things. Not exactly an impressive track record.

Beyond health, though, the real issues are about economics and democracy. Monsanto and large agribusiness firms stand to make millions while small farmers continue to starve. This is a fact agreed upon by Monsanto, the Office of Management and Budget, farmers’ organizations and the USDA. This hormone is being pushed during a time of worldwide overproduction of milk. Production of Posilac is driven only by corporate greed, not need.

The other issue is democracy. If there is nothing wrong with rBGH milk, why not have it labeled so people can make a choice? Isn’t that what America is all about? The answer is that most Americans (in the 80% range in most surveys) prefer food without hormones. So Monsanto’s profits depend on keeping Americans ignorant. I fear for the future in a country where the government is colluding with large corporations to keep information away from people and taking away their right to make informed choices.

ROBERT BREUNIG

Riverside