Even Monsanto rejects synthetic bovine growth hormones!

Evidently, the GMO giant has better things to do than to harass dairies over labels 6

After years of battling in court to prevent dairies from labeling their milk rBGH-free, Monsanto is apparently udderly fed up. Facing a growing backlash against its genetically engineered Recombinant bovine growth hormone (hence rBGH) that once conquered the U.S. dairy industry, the Gene Giant is selling rights to produce Posilac, its name for the the product.

Posilac had become increasingly marginal to Monsanto's profit growth, which derives mainly from its dominance of the genetically modified corn, soy, and cotton seed markets.

Whatever company buys it probably won't have Monsanto's deep pockets or litigious zeal for trying to prevent dairies from labeling their products rBGH-free. The announcement marks a victory for consumers' right to know what's in their food.

Grist food editor Tom Philpott farms and cooks at Maverick Farms, a sustainable-agriculture nonprofit and small farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Follow my Twitter feed; contact me at tphilpott[at]grist[dot]org.

Advertisement
Advertisement
  1. caniscandida Posted 7:12 pm
    09 Aug 2008

    trying to be charitableMonsanto's creation, promotion and distribution of GM agricultural enhancements (fancy seeds, hormones, whatever) might just possibly be philosophically and scientifically defensible, as a bona fide effort to do something good for humanity.
    Everyone who reads Gristmill surely must know that that claim is not at all beyond controversy, and that most of us (I assume) have grave reservations about it.  Still, it is defensible, so far as it goes.
    That defensibility is shattered, however, by Monsanto's underhanded attempts to suppress the free speech of its competitors, and to keep consumers in the dark.  It should be obvious that all Monsanto cares about is short-term profit, and catering to short-sighted people who similarly care about nothing but short-term profit.

    Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.
  2. amazingdrx Posted 1:30 am
    10 Aug 2008

    OrganicIs it really the organic food movement, specifically organic milk, that is behind this Canis?  Organic dairy farmers are really in trouble because of this recession, BTW.
    Once the organic label was legalized, the bovine growth hormone label became somewhat inconsequential.  What would really be devestating to this technology would be the labeling of hormone based products as unfit for pregnant women or children in their growth years.
    The reasoning being that these hormones will interfere woh natural growth of offspring, before and for at least a few years after birth.
    That would spell the death of hormone contaminated food.  Now maybe antibiotic contamination could be fought in a similar way?  I don't know.

    http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
  3. boondockbob Posted 2:57 am
    10 Aug 2008

    transparencyThe important pint is that Monsanto tried to hide the hormone's usage from milk drinkers. If I want to drink milk with it or without it, that should be my decision. If Monsanto wanted the public to accept rGBH, they should have launched an educational program, complete with the opinions of those who disagreed, then we could have made up our own minds.
  4. Wolverine Posted 4:29 am
    10 Aug 2008

    What Boondockbob SaidThe entire genetic engineering industry has shown its complete illegitimacy by getting its lackeys in the U.S. government to forgo labeling of genetically engineered foods.  Their claims about public ignorance are totally specious.  If this industry was at all legitimate, it would have no problem labeling its foods as genetically engineered.  Instead, it has fought very hard to hide that fact because it knows that no one wants that Frankenfood.
    And BTW Canis, your charity is grossly misplaced on these environmental criminals who would pervert the basic building blocks of life for profit and/or ego.  This stuff was not done in order to do something good for humanity, but instead in order to corner certain food markets.  But even if your charitable idea were correct, it's the same thinking as the Nazi scientists who wanted to create a master race of humans: these psychos think they're fixing nature's "mistakes."  I think they should look in the mirror to see the real mistakes.
  5. caniscandida Posted 5:05 am
    10 Aug 2008

    thought experimentDon't worry, Wolverine; in fact I feel exactly as you and Boondockbob do.  It is precisely because I cannot conceive of how anybody could work for Monsanto, or gladly buy a Monsanto product, that I tried to imagine what might be said in Monsanto's defense.  And it did not take me long before I could defend Monsanto no longer.
    Amazing,

    that is a great idea: meat from animals who were regularly fed anti-biotics should be labeled as such.

    Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.
  6. Rick North Posted 7:50 am
    11 Aug 2008

    bovine growth hormoneOregon Physicians for Social Responsibility has led a nationwide educational and citizen action campaign opposing this genetically engineered hormone for the past five years.
    We have a short video and the Know Your Milk brochure at our website at http://www.oregonpsr.org under Campaign For Safe Food that explains why we have so many concerns about it. We encourage you to check them out.
    Rick North

    Project Director

    Oregon PSR

    Rick North

    Project Director, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility's Campaign For Safe Food

Add a Comment

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.

Hello, Visitor!    Why not register?

Advertisement