Looks like our Kansas lawmakers again are wasting taxpayers’ time and money but seeking legislation to shelter dairies that use recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to boost milk production.
We’ve been here before. Enough already. Tell your lawmakers. The Center for Food Safety makes it easy.
Jennifer // Mar 23, 2009 at 2:47 am
Kerschen sent me a non-canned (I assume) response. Here’s what it says:
Please allow me to give you some background information so that perhaps
you can see my concern for dairy families interests in HB 2295. I have
been a dairy farmer for 45 years. The year I started grade school is the
year I began working on our family’s farm. My brothers and I went
into the business for ourselves in 1974. Our family milked between 75
and 200 cows twice a day. During that time we never used rBST,
although many of our neighbors did.
This technology is a management tool that every producer has the choice
to implement on his/her farm. They must decide if they want to pursue
the extra care and management needed to gain the benefits of the
product. I must admit that those who successfully use this product have
gained an efficiency that has continued over the past 16 years, when it
was first approved by the FDA.
I know of no dairy farmer who would use a product that was not declared
safe by the FDA. Milk is one of the most regulated products in the food
business. Every sample that leaves the farm is tested for a number of
quality conditions which include, bacteria, somatic cell, antibiotics,
etc. BST is naturally found in milk samples, whether a producer is
using the product or not. That is why a producer must sign an affidavit
which states he is not using the product.
The costs to segregate milk supplies is paid by the producers . On the
average, the producer receives about 5 cents a gallon for this effort.
The retailer collects between 50 cents to $1.00 for the same product.
Now some retailers are proclaiming their milk is “antibiotic “ free
when all milk by law must be antibiotic free. This is about selective
marketing, to influence consumers to assume that other products are less
desirable because of the label.
We want consumers to know what is in their food. We support accurate
labeling. I have 5 children myself and a grandson and would never allow
them to consume a product that is harmful to them. By the way, I have
never taken a cent from Monsanto and have often been critical of their
handling of the product rBST. I hope we can reach a mutual
understanding that protects consumers, dairy producers and their product
manufacturers so interstate commerce can continue as it should.
Frustrating.
Janet Majure // Mar 23, 2009 at 10:21 am
Canned, I think; he sent me the same thing. Meanwhile, see today’s post.