Victory for Voluntary GMO-Free Labels!

Monsanto and Eli Lilly have successfully blocked consumers' right to know about factory-farm dairy production by concealing the use of their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, a.k.a. rBGH or rBST.

Still, when it comes to voluntary labels on non-GMO food, consumers are winning!

The first blow to biotech was in 2010 when a Sixth Circuit court ruled that milk produced with synthetic hormones is different than milk produced without it and struck down a Ohio rule that would have removed "rBGH-free" labels from dairy products. The court found:

- A compositional difference does exist between milk from untreated cows and conventional milk.

- The use of rBGH (rbST) in milk production has been shown to elevate the levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a naturally occurring hormone that in high levels is linked to several types of cancers, among other things.

- rBGH (rbST) use induces an unnatural period of milk production during a cow's "negative energy phase." Milk produced during this stage is considered to be low quality due to its increased fat content and its decreased level of proteins.

- Milk from rBGH-injected cows contains higher somatic cell counts, which makes the milk turn sour more quickly and is another indicator of poor milk quality.

The final blow to the Ohio rule came this week when the state agreed that, instead of revising the rule to comply with the court's opinion, it would abandon it altogether.
Read more

What's in your milk? Hundreds of dairies have been breaking laws designed to keep antibiotics and other drugs out of our food supply. Indianapolis- WTHR, Indiana.  http://www.wthr.com/story/14656493/whats-in-your-milk

The real price of Cheap Food

Food Med 2007  Downloads  Changing our Cheap Food Mentality Hugh Joseph, PhD Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University Food Med 2005 Downloads   Time Magazine:  Getting Real about the Cheap Price of Food http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458,00.html. FoodMed 2009 Downloads
		What is a CAFO? Cheap Meat and Poultry Public Health Issues with Industrialized Beef, Hog and Poultry Production Doug Gurian-Sherman, Union for Concerned Scientists Monday, March 8, 2010 at 11:00 AM EST http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/03/protecting-the-global-food-chain Protecting the Global Food Chain A quarter of the calories that feed the planet come from wheat. It’s going to take a lot more wheat to feed the world as its population moves toward 9 billion. But keeping that vast hunger fed is a constant race against pathogens that can wipe out a harvest, climate change that can strangle a crop. It takes non-stop breeding and new hybrids. Breeding that can depend on some very old and out-of-the-way strains. On seeds you’d never think of. In the most exotic locations. Seeds that keep your family fed. This hour, On Point: the staff of life, and the wild story of how bread stays on your table.

We Won: Schools Can Serve rBGH-Free and Organic Milk!

School Milk Campaign Victory! This is a victory for consumers, parents and kids across the country, schools can now source better milk. Help Spread the News

Great news! We just won our campaign to make sure schools can source organic milk or rBGH-Free milk! We've been working over the last year to pressure Congress and the USDA to make it clear that schools can purchase better milk for their students. The USDA got the message and has made it clear schools have the choice. Help us spread the word so all schools know they can serve better milk!

Thanks to folks like you who contacted your members of Congress, participated in our School Milk Days of Action, and contacted your local schools, our nation's schools will not become the dumping ground for milk produced with artificial growth hormones. Here are a few highlights from our School Milk Campaign:

- Over 30,000 petition signatures were delivered to Congress
- School Milk Campaign activists made over 2,000 calls to Congress
- Hundreds of schools across the country were contacted about their milk, directly influencing three schools to go rBGH-Free
-Our Healthy School Milk or Bust road trip hit seven key states, raising visibility of this issue with the media, consumers and congressional staff

Now that it's clear schools can buy organic milk or milk that's produced without artificial hormones, we need to make sure schools know they have this choice.  Can you tell your friends and family the great news, and ask them to spread the word?

We've been working to make sure that schools have the opportunity to purchase organic milk and milk that's free of artificial growth hormones because of the serious health concerns associated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH).  The artificial hormones are injected into cows to make them produce more milk, which can cause health problems for the cows, and may be linked to cancer in humans. We're proud that schools will now have the clear choice to offer milk that's produced without artificial growth hormones. Please help us spread the word.


Thanks for taking action,
Sarah Alexander, Senior Food Organizer
Food & Water Watch
goodfood(at)fwwatch.org

Organic Bytes #180

July 1, 2009

Organic Bytes #180

Health, Justice and Sustainability News

from the Organic Consumers Association

In This Issue

• Breaking News of the Week: Horizon Sells Out Organic Farmers With New "Natural" Milk
• Alert of the Week: Whole Foods Market Undermining Our Organic Future
• Alert Update of the Week: Stop Big Brother's NAIS
• Political Plunder of the Week: Who is Spending What on Lobbying?
• Sustainability News of the Week: Some Resources for Getting Started with a Backyard Chicken Coop
• Web Video of the Week: Bill McKibben on U.S. Climate Politics
• Other Headlines of the Week

Organic Dairy Family Farmers Need Support

Alert Update of the Week

The OCA has called for a boycott of bogus organic dairy brands such as Horizon and Aurora (suppliers to Wal-Mart, Safeway and other giant chains), who have inundated the market with misleadingly labeled "organic" milk produced on factory farms. Recently, the situation has worsened as organic feed prices have increased and recession-pummeled consumers have cut back on the amount of organic milk they are purchasing. The result is a surplus of organic milk, depressed milk prices, and an increasing number of organic dairy farmers across the U.S. being driven into bankruptcy. Consumers can support ethical organic dairy farmers and preserve organic integrity by boycotting Horizon and Aurora products and instead supporting local organic farmers and dairy cooperatives like Organic Valley and others.

Learn More

Eliminate rBGH milk from school meal programs

As you know, Breast Cancer Action works to eliminate the causes of cancer in our environment. This year, the focus of our Think Before You Pink campaign will be to rid the entire dairy market of rBGH--the cancer-linked artificial growth hormone.

As part of the 2009 Think Before You Pink campaign, we're partnering with Food and Water Watch to eliminate rBGH milk from school meal programs. As consumer demand increases for hormone-free milk, many schools don't have a choice. School kids are drinking milk we refuse to drink ourselves!

Everyone deserves rBGH-free dairy. Keep the pressure on. Sign the Petition to Congress at
http://bcaction.org/index.php?page=school-milk-petition.

Breast Cancer Action
55 New Montgomery St. #323
San Francisco, CA 94105

Toll-free at 877-2STOPBC (278-6722)
www.bcaction.org
www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org