Letter Asks Governor to Act as Trade Associations Enter into July 23 Mediation with Ohio Department of Agriculture
An alliance of over 40 consumer, farmer, environmental, ethical investor, and food safety groups sent Governor Ted Strickland a letter this week urging him to repeal a controversial rule concerning the use of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH, also known as recombinant bovine somatotropin or “rbST”) and dairy product labeling in Ohio. The emergency rule, issued in February 2008, stipulates that Ohio’s dairy producers cannot use the widely used and understood term “rbGH-free” on labels and must rather describe products as “from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.” The rule also requires that a disclaimer must be included stating that “no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rbST-supplemented and non-rbST-supplemented cows.”
The letter was submitted just prior to the start of a mediation period between the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the Organic Trade Association (OTA), which will begin on July 23. The groups would like to see Governor Strickland rescind this rule before the mediation gets underway. More than 4,000 letters, e-mails, and faxes have been sent to Strickland in the last month from concerned Ohio citizens who want to see this rule changed.
In the letter, the signees address Strickland directly, urging him to reconsider his support for a rule that “…interferes with Ohioans’ ability to make an informed decision about the dairy products they buy, with farmers and dairies’ rights to free speech, and with consumer right-to-know.” The letter goes on to point out that “…the vast majority of consumers want to know whether the milk they buy contains artificial growth hormones such as rbGH.” According to the drafters of the letter, consumers deserve full disclosure because of unanswered questions about the safety of milk from rbGH-treated cows.
Strickland’s rule, which is currently not being enforced under orders from the Ohio courts, is based on an 18-year-old FDA review of rbGH. As the letter points out, FDA’s own publications, as well as subsequent scientific studies, have shown that there are significant differences, some of which may pose risks to human health.
Scientists from Canada and the EU have expressed health concerns over rbGH, specifically for cancer and increased antibiotic resistance. Along with most of the world’s industrialized nations, they have banned its use. Research indicates that cows treated with rbGH differ from normal cows in well-documented ways. Studies have shown that increased rates of bovine lameness, mastitis, reproductive problems, and other health effects result from its use. The possible effects on humans from long-term consumption of products from these animals are not known.
Due to growing consumer demand, companies are removing rbGH from their dairy products across the country. In an October 2008 poll cited in the letter, the Consumer Reports National Research Center showed that 93% of consumers want dairy farmers to be allowed to label their products as being free of these hormones.
Since Strickland issued this emergency rule, similar measures have been proposed in other states, including Indiana, Vermont, Missouri, Utah, and Kansas. In every instance, they were soundly defeated. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, in one of her last acts before becoming U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, vetoed a bill calling for dairy labeling rules similar to the one in Ohio.
The following organizations signed the letter to Governor Strickland:
Ohio-based: Blue Rock Station; Countryside Conservancy; Innovative Farmers of Ohio; Ohio Conference on Fair Trade; Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association; Ohio Environmental Council; Ohio Sierra Club; MOON Cooperative Services.
National and other states: AllergyKids; As You Sow; Breast Cancer Action; Center for Environmental Health; Center for Food Safety; Consumer Federation of America; Consumers Union; Cornucopia Institute; CREDO/Working Assets; Family Farm Defenders; Farmer-to-Farmer Campaign on Genetic Engineering; Food and Water Watch; Food Animal Concerns Trust; Health Care Without Harm; Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; Institute for Responsible Technology; Kirschenmann Family Farms; Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investments; National Family Farm Coalition; Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance; Northeast Organic Farming Association Interstate Council representing 7 states (NOFA-VT, NOFA-NH, NOFA-MASS, NOFA-CT, NOFA-NY, NOFA-NJ and NOFA-RI); Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment; Northwood Farms; Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; Organic Consumers Association; Organic Farming Research Foundation; Organic Trade Association; Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture; Science and Environmental Health Network; Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth; Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia; Sustainable Living Systems; Willow Creek Farm.
