The genetically engineered hormone was developed by the Monsanto company to supplement dairy cows’ natural bovine growth hormone and stimulate milk production. The FDA approved rBST in 1993 — in what opponents call one of the FDA’s most controversial decisions – and Monsanto began selling it the following year under the brand name Posilac. But nearly a decade would pass before many consumers and retailers started demanding rBGH-free milk.
One of the earliest opponents was the ice cream company, Ben & Jerry’s of Vermont, which began posting this label on its ice cream cartons in 1997: “We oppose Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone. The family farmers who supply our milk and cream pledge not to treat their cows with rBGH.” On its website, Ben & Jerry’s says it believes rBGH “is a step in the wrong direction toward a synthetic, chemically-intensive, factory-produced food supply.”
Gradually, other companies started requesting rBGH-free milk from their processors, who in turn demanded it from farmers. “There really is no difference between the milk,” says Peggy Armstrong of the International Dairy Foods Association, which represents dairy manufacturers. “But consumers have expressed interest in organic and are looking at things they may consider to be more natural.”
“We’ve always pressured grocers, coffee shops and restaurants to carry organic and rBGH-free milk,” says Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Association. “There is a tremendous and growing consumer demand because of health, environmental, and ethical concerns.”
Although Kroger and other retailers cite those customer requests, the dairy industry says the demand originated with retailers who see “rBGH-free” as a smart advertising strategy. “This is certainly a trend that’s happening across the country, but I’d be surprised if there were data that would indicate there’s been a sea change in consumer attitudes in the past two years,” says Galen of the National Milk Producers. “It has become a trend in terms of marketing.”
Galen says the decision to use Posilac is a personal decision made by a minority of dairy farmers. “It’s just like any other tool. Some people find certain tools useful and other people don’t. The majority of farmers haven’t used (Posilac) so for them it’s really no skin off their back.”
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1 Food Facts: Milk labels, choices, and rBGH : Eat. Drink. Better. // Mar 13, 2008 at 1:45 pm
[...] elevated levels of an insulin-like growth hormone, IFG-1, in treated cows’ milk. According to Dr. Jenny Pompilio, with Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, elevated IGF-1 levels have been linked to [...]
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