Demonstrators Spill Milk to Protest Hormone Use

Demonstrators dumped milk outside supermarkets in 50 U.S. cities Friday to protest the use of a genetically engineered hormone that boosts milk production.

Milk was spilled in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis, New Orleans, Milwaukee and dozens of other cities, said Ronnie Cummins, an organizer of the campaign.

Bovine growth hormone (rBGH), approved for use in the United States exactly one year ago, is potentially dangerous for human and animal health and is the precursor of factory farming and the breakup of family farms, Cummins said.

“What’s at stake is the entire future of the food chain,” said Cummins, a director of the Pure Food Campaign against genetically engineered foods.

The U.S. government has approved nine genetically engineered foods for sale in the past year, and has rejected calls for mandatory labeling.

“People are being denied their right to know what they’re eating,” Cummins said.

Food manufacturers dismissed what they termed the “ridiculous rhetoric” of Cummins’ group.

“The so-called Pure Food Campaign is once again trying to maneuver the media and the public into their own bizarre virtual reality,” the Grocery Manufacturers of America said in a statement.

Jim Barr, chief executive officer of the National Milk Producers Federation, said Wednesday that the rBGH battle is “over.” He said national milk consumption was up 0.8% from last year, proving public confidence in the product.

But opponents of the hormone said per capita consumption actually went down when a 1% population increase in the past year was taken into account.