Citizens for Health

Your Right to Know: Does your Milk have Artificial Hormones?

As you know, we at Citizens or Health are committed to ensuring consumers have access to the information they need to make their own decisions about their health and wellness. A critical measure of this access is the degree to which products are fully and truthfully labeled to reflect what they do - or do not - contain.

Several large dairy producers and food companies have made news recently by getting rid of recombinant bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH or rBST, from their milk supply. This is great news for consumers, since this genetically engineered growth hormone is known to cause harm to cows and may pose health risks to humans.

In yet another attack on consumers' right to know, Monsanto, the company that makes rBGH under the trade name Posilac, has asked the Food and Drug Administration to restrict the use of labels identifying “rBGH-free” or “rBST-free” dairy products. Monsanto claims such labels are "misleading" to consumers, and infer that dairy products without such a label are inferior. The FDA approved the use of voluntary labels more than 12 years ago at the request of dairy companies seeking to respond to customer concerns over the use of the genetically engineered hormone. Since the FDA refused to require mandatory labeling of dairy products from cows treated with rBGH, voluntary labeling of dairy products that do not contain rBGH is the only resource consumers have to make informed decisions about what to feed themselves and their families.

If Monsanto succeeds in convincing the FDA to restrict rBGH-free labeling, consumers will lose valuable information about how their food is produced and will be less able to make their own decisions about their health and wellness.

Protect Your Right to Know - Send an email to the FDA today!

In order to prevent your letter from being flagged as spam, the letter below is not editable. If you wish to send your own personal comments to Commissioner von Eschenbach, email him at andrew.voneschenbach@fda.hhs.gov. Please take a moment to send this letter as well - there is tremendous power in numbers, and we want him to know Citizens for Health members deserve the right to know!

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February 10, 2010

Subject:
Do Not Restrict Labeling of rBGH-free Products

Dear Commissioner,

I am writing to voice my opposition to a recent request by Monsanto that the Food and Drug Administration restrict dairy producers from labeling milk as produced without recombinant bovine growth hormone. Many consumers object to this hormone, known as rBGH or rBST, as is reflected in the ever-growing demand for products that are rBGH-free. I have a right to know if this artificial hormone was used in the production of the dairy products I buy, and I believe dairy companies should be able to inform customers of this fact. The use of rBGH is concerning because it causes infections and other problems in cows. These infections lead to the use of more antibiotics, which can contribute to the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This is not just a problem for the animals involved, but for the people who consume dairy products from such animals, since it can affect the degree to which those people will respond to antibiotic treatments themselves. There are also many unresolved questions concerning the use of this artificial hormone and links to some types of cancers, particularly those of the breast, prostate, and lung. I urge you to recognize the importance of food labels to consumers and producers, and not to restrict the use of rBGH-free labeling. Denying consumers information about how milk was produced leaves consumers without the information they need to make informed choices. Thank you, and I look forward to your reply.
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