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

Celebrate Breast Cancer Action Victory

We recently celebrated a major victory over General Mills (GM) in the name of women's health. GM (the parent company of Yoplait) committed to making yogurt without the use of the cancer-linked recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). General Mills operates globally with 29,500 employees. Breast Cancer Action has 10 employees. With your help, we pulled together as a community and persuaded this major US food manufacturer to put breast cancer before profits. Now that's what I call working together. This victory has inspired us to take a bold next step to eradicate rBGH from the entire U.S. dairy market. We need all the people we can to support this effort. Share this email with 3 of your closest friends and tell them why you support us. Your donations enable us to protect women's health. Please, send this E-alert to 3 of your dearest friends. Urge them to make a donation. If you received this email from a close friend, join us and keep the momentum going. Donate today. With thanks,

Our publication The Source is online 4 times a year. We preserve trees,avoid toxins in ink, save costs and still keep you up to date. It's easier than ever to access. Go online and read the latest issue.

Write Sebelius

Tell the future HHS Secretary you want accurate labels on your milk!

Last week the Kansas state legislature passed a bill restricting how much information consumers get about the milk they buy. The state legislature of Kansas wants to restrict dairies' ability to label their products as rBGH-free. Tell Governor Sebelius to protect consumers' right to know and veto this bill.

The artificial hormone rBGH has been linked to increased rates of cancer in humans, and consumers have increasingly rejected milk produced with the artificial hormone. So why does a bill in Kansas matter to you? It is part of a national effort to prevent consumers from knowing whether their milk was produced with rBGH.

It's not too late, though, because Governor Kathleen Sebelius can still veto the bill. The governor is President Obama's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, the agency that houses the Food and Drug Administration. Let's make sure that she doesn't give in to big agriculture.

The FDA already has national rules for rBGH-free labeling, and they've worked fine for years. This bill would harm consumers and water down existing national labeling rules by requiring a misleading disclaimer on all rBGH-free labels. Tell Governor Sebelius we don't want her to water down FDA's rules right before she comes to Washington.

This legislation would place a financial burden on small dairy producers. It would also force national producers to have different labels for Kansas than the rest of the country - which could mean many bigger producers simply stop using any rBGH-free labels at all.

Contact Governor Sebelius now to let her know we want our future HHS Secretary to protect consumers' right to know.


Thanks for taking action,

Sarah, Alex, Noelle and the Food Team
Food & Water Watch
goodfood(at)fwwatch.org

Got rbST?

http://www.usatoday.com/money/ industries/food/2009-03-15- dairy-growth-hormone-ban_N.htm

Companies cut synthetic hormone from dairy products

USA TODAY March 15, 2009 By Bruce Horovitz

Got rbST? That's not the latest space critter in a George Lucas film. It's a synthetic growth hormone (recombinant bovine somatotropin) used to spur cows to produce more milk. Many dairies and retailers - including General Mills (GIS) , Dannon and Wal-Mart (WMT) - are nixing it from dairy products in a world of rising food fears....

General Mills announces No rBGH in Yogurt

Yoplait goes rBGH free! We did it!

General Mills announced that they are taking the rBGH dairy out of Yoplait yogurt, something that just four months ago they assured us was impossible.

Congratulations and thank you to everyone who wrote General Mills, made a contribution or took any action to support this effort.

See BCA's press release.

---

Dannon follows suit! No rBGH by 2010

Two weeks after General Mills announced they were going rBGH free, Dannon responded to public pressure and made the same promise to consumers.

These two companies represent two-thirds of America's dairy products and their policy change shows a cultural shift.

This is a tremendous acknowledgment of grassroots activism and a victory for all of us.

Victory: Monsanto to divest of rBGH business!

From: Filmona, Food & Water Watch
Date: Thu, Aug 7, 2008 at 3:38 PM
Subject: Victory: Monsanto to divest of rBGH business!
To: ellie.goldberg@gmail.com

Dear Ellie ,

We're pleased to share that Monsanto, the maker of rBGH, announced yesterday that it will sell off its dairy hormone business! After years of trying to stifle consumer rejection of its artificial hormone, even Monsanto has now gotten the message: Consumers don't want rBGH in their milk.

Thank you for all your efforts in advocating against the use of this harmful hormone! In the last year, you've helped stop rBGH-free labeling bans in seven states and encouraged Starbucks to go artificial hormone-free. Here's yet another victory for you to celebrate!

Help us maintain the momentum. Please ask three of your friends to sign our petition encouaging more companies to go rBGH-free.

And stay tuned for further actions on how you can ensure kids get rBGH-free milk in school lunches.


Filmona and Sarah
The Food Team
Food & Water Watch
goodfood(at)fwwatch.org

Think Before You Pink

Yoplait's fall campaign, Save Lids to Save Lives, continues to urge consumers to buy pink-lidded cups of Yoplait yogurt. For each pink lid mailed back to the company by December 31, Yoplait donates ten cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, up to $1.5 million. Sadly, a woman would have to eat three containers of Yoplait every day during the four-month campaign to raise $36 for the cause--and the yogurt is made from cows treated with rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone). Recent studies show that rBGH dairy products may be linked with an increased risk of breast, colon, and prostate cancer.

NURSES TAKE ACTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 1, 2008
Contact: Jamie Harvie, (218) 525 7806 (W) (218) 340 6442 (Cell) ;
Barbara Sattler, DrPH, RN, FAAN , (410) 706 1924 ;

Also see:
Nurses rBGH-free Dairy Toolkit

NURSES TAKE ACTION ON UNNECESSARY HORMONE RBGH IN DAIRY PRODUCTS

(5/1/08 – Arlington, VA). Today, the Nurses Work Group of Health Care Without Harm, announced the release of an rBGH-free Dairy Toolkit in conjunction with National Nurses Week, May 6th – May 12th. The rBGH-free Dairy Toolkit is a collection of resources to help nurses across the country advocate for rBGH-free dairy products in their hospitals, for their patients and in their homes.

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH or rBST) is an artificial hormone given to dairy cows to increase milk production. “There are growing concerns that the use of rBGH may pose unnecessary risks to human health,” stated Karen A. Ballard, MA, RN, the Nurses Work Group’s Chair. “Precaution is a principle of our profession, so especially when our health is concerned, it is logical to avoid the use of dairy produced with this unnecessary hormone.” The use of rBGH has been banned in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and all 27 nations of the European Union.

Hospitals and health systems that have reduced or eliminated their use of rBGH dairy include:

• The National Institutes of Health, Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center
• Catholic Health Care West Health System
• Fletcher Allen Medical Center, Vermont
• Oregon Health and Sciences University Medical Center
• Children’s Hospitals of Minnesota
• St. Luke’s Hospital, Minnesota

“The toolkit is a great collection of resources to help nurses promote healthy choices by encouraging our hospitals and our patients to purchase rBGH-free dairy,” stated Barbara Sattler, DrPH, RN, FAAN, nurse and Director of the Environmental Health Education Center at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. “Since many of our hospitals are already purchasing rBGH-free milk, I hope that companies such as Dannon and Yoplait will support our interest in health by eliminating the use of rBGH in their products, especially yogurt.”

HCWH encourages health care providers to purchase non-rBGH dairy products from suppliers. There are two categories of non-rBGH milk, organic and conventional. Organic is available in most parts of the country, usually at higher prices than conventional. Non-rBGH milk, often similarly priced to rBGH milk, may sometimes be labeled as containing "no artificial (or added) hormones." Buyers should ask their dairy suppliers for their policies on availability and verification methods for non-rBGH dairy products.

Across the country hospitals and healthy systems are adopting practices and policies to minimize the ecological health impacts from food production. Currently, 119 hospitals nationwide have signed Health Care Without Harm’s Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge (www.noharm.org/us/food/pledge).

HCWH is an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care industry worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. HCWH includes over 30 national and international nurse organizations.

The Nurses rBGH-free Dairy Toolkit is available at www.noharm.org/us/nurses/rbgh. To learn more about HCWH’s work on food and health see www.healthyfoodinhealthcare.org. HCWH’s position on rBGH can be found at: http://www.noharm.org/details.cfm?ID=1104&type=document.