Monthly Archives: December 2006

Consumer Acceptance of rbST – The Facts

Terry Etherton

I attended a dairy producer meeting in Breese, Illinois on December 18, 2006. It was an excellent meeting that was organized by two producers, Boyd Schaufelberger and Frank Doll. Over 100 producers attended the meeting. The meeting was prompted by the recent public discussion surrounding recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST)-free milk and truth-in-labeling. Continue reading Consumer Acceptance of rbST – The Facts

Consumer Organization Urges FDA Action on ‘rBST-free’ Ads

Compiled by the Kansas Farmer staff

Dean Foods, H.P. Hood and other milk merchandisers now are catching “heat” from consumers over their push to market “rBST-free” or “no rBST” milk. Last week, the National Organization for African Americans in Housing, a non-profit advocate for low-income citizens, called on U.S. Food and Drug Administration to stop dairy processors from deceptively marketing “no rBST” milk. Read the full text of this article…

The ‘Organic’ Milk Scam Continues

by Alan Caruba, humanevents.com

On December 5 some Starbucks customers in New York and Washington, D.C., two major media centers, could look up from their double lattes and see a small group of idiots dressed up as cows protesting outside their favorite bistro. Unfortunately for the protesters, the media ignored their valiant effort to advance the interests of Food and Water Watch, but good news for consumers. Read the full text of this article…

What has rekindled the rBST-free issue?

by Bob Meyer, brownfieldnetwork.com

A dairy cooperative in Illinois is the latest to suggest providing rBST-free milk. Prairie Farms Dairy Cooperative CEO, Ed Mullins says they have had customers ask for the milk so the Carlinville-based co-op is looking at switching two of their 24 milk processing plants to rBST-free. Mullins says producers would sign affidavits promising not to use the synthetic hormone. “We are not trying to stop the technology you are using,” he says, “The problem stems from an uninformed consumer.” Read the full text of this article…

audio file
Audio related to this article: Dr. Terry Etherton talks about the rBST-free movement.

 

 

rbST Controversy Stems from “Uninformed Consumer”

By Dairy Herd staff, www.dairyherd.com

Efforts to label certain milk as “rBST free” are not consumer inspired, but rather a move by marketers to put different types of milk in the store in order to gain premium pricing in some cases.

That, according to Terry Etherton, head of the dairy science department at Penn State University, helps explain why we are increasingly seeing three types of milk in the grocery store:

  • Conventional
  • r-bST-free
  • Organic

Read the full text of this article (requires registering with dairyherd.com)