OCA: Take Action

Tell the Governor to Stop Harassing rBGH-free Dairies!

Early in 2008, we had a small victory in Ohio to protect consumers' right to know how their milk has been produced. Thousands of Ohioans contacted Governor Strickland and prevented him from blocking dairies from informing consumers that they do not use rBGH. (rBGH, aka Posilac, is the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone that Monsanto created.) Unfortunately, it turned out that the fine print of the governor's revised labeling rules helped Eli Lilly (rBGH's new owner) more than it helped consumers. The Governor's labeling rules created so many barriers that it had the effect of discouraging dairies that don't use rBGH from telling consumers that they'd gone rBGH-free.

Governor Strickland ignored thousands of consumer comments opposing his restrictions on "rBGH-free" dairy labels. The State of Ohio has been spending taxpayers' money over the last year to defend his unnecessary rule. The courts have postponed enforcement of the rule until resolution of an appeal by the International Dairy Foods Association and the Organic Trade Association. On July 23, 2009, IDFA and OTA are going into mediation with the Ohio Department of Agriculture to see if they can come to an agreement. Governor Strickland could still do the right thing and save the State of Ohio a lot of time and money by rescinding the rule.

Tell Governor Strickland that you want him to rescind the rules. He should be mandating labels on milk produced by cows injected with Eli Lilly's Posilac, not making it harder for rBGH-free dairies to effectively communicate with consumers.

For more information:

Organic Consumers Association's rBGH Page

Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility's rBGH Page

Food & Water Watch's rBGH Page

>>Learn More

November 21, 2009

Subject:

Dear Governor Strickland,

Please rescind the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture rules (901:11-8-01) restricting the labeling of dairy products produced without the use of recombinant bovine growth hormone.

There has been no significant business or consumer demand for Ohio to limit speech on dairy labels. Moreover, your labeling rules:

1.	Make it illegal to tell the truth
2.	Require a health claim that’s untrue
3.	Pose an economic hardship on dairies
4.	Could take away consumers’ right to know what’s in their food

Specifically, the rules ban “rBGH Free” or “rBST Free” labeling. By definition, cows that aren’t injected with rBGH are rBGH-free, since rBGH doesn’t exist in nature. Dairy processors, farmers and retailers would be banned from simply telling the truth.

Second, the rules require that this disclaimer, or similar one, be included on the label: “The FDA has determined that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-supplemented and non-rBST-supplemented cows.”

There is substantial, sound evidence that rBGH poses animal and human health risks.

1.  Milk from treated cows has much higher levels of IGF-1, a hormone considered to be a high risk factor for breast, prostate, colon, lung, and other cancers.

2.  The milk also has lowered nutritional value, increased antibiotics and more pus from infected udders.

At a time of nearly unprecedented economic problems, these rules would cost dairy processors more money to re-label and restrict their marketing efforts, hurting their profits. Regional and national dairy processors can’t re-do labels on a state-by-state basis. Many could be forced to give up any kind of rBGH-free labeling altogether, taking away their ability to use their rBGH-free status as a marketing tool. It is common knowledge that more and more consumers are looking for dairy products without the drug. This excessive government regulation punishes consumers, processors and the farmers who supply them.

We urge you to play a significant role in the Court of Appeals’ mediation session next month. Please rescind the rules.

Sincerely,

We will add your signature from the information you provide.

First Name*

Last Name*

Email*

Street*

Street 2

City*

State/Province*

Zip/Postal Code*

Send an Email

Send a Fax

Add me to the following list(s):
Organic Bytes
OCA's twice-per-month email newsletter of Sustainability News, Alerts and Tips (Your email is kept private).

Search OCA:

State News & Activities:

Tell the Governor to Stop Harassing rBGH-free Dairies!