First stop, Ohio. Apparently having learned nothing from the humiliating boondoggle that erupted late last year when bureaucrats in neighboring Pennsylvania tried to push through a regulation forbidding dairies from labeling their milk as free of the artificial growth hormone rbST (even if it was), only to be forced to retract the rule in the face of public outrage, the Ohio Department of Agriculture appears poised to try the same stunt.
Over strident objections from more than 70 consumer groups who claim that shoppers have a right to know what's in their milk (Here's a PDF of the letter they sent to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland), the Ohio Dairy Advisory Committee met in late December to consider the ban. A decision is expected anytime.
A couple of interesting aspects of the committee's makeup cast doubts upon its ability to provide unbiased advice. Six of seven dairy farmers sitting in judgment use rbST on their cows. As for the sole "consumer advocate," in the room, she happens to be a former market manager for Monsanto, the firm that sells Posliac, the trade name for rbST.
Meanwhile, in Arizona a judicial panel is expected to hear motions on consolidating nearly a dozen lawsuits that have been filed against the nation's largest provider of store-brand "organic" milk, Aurora Organic Dairies. The suits allege that the Colorado-based company's milk did not meet federal organic standards, a claim that Aurora hotly denies. (Read their PDF.)
In late December, a separate batch of litigants added Wal-Mart to the list of retailers (including Costco, Wild Oats, Target, and Safeway) being sued for selling Aurora's milk under their own labels.
Holy Cow!
Raising a Stink
As a resident of rural Vermont, I happily accept that a whiff of fresh manure
comes with the territory, just like snow in the winter, mud in the spring, and
mosquitoes in the summer. In fact, I spread a little of the stuff on my garden
every year. But a few times a year, when the wind blows from the right (or
should I say the wrong) direction and the employees at the local factory farm
are pumping muck out of the barns, the stench is almost unbearable.
It's also unhealthy. Research shows that factory farms spew more ammonia into America's air than industrial plants do. Ammonia can bind with other airborne particles to penetrate deeply into the lungs.
This hasn't escaped the notice of the Environmental Protection Agency. But that's no reason to breathe a sigh of relief. According to the Cornucopia Institute, the agency gave Big Ag a big gift just before the holidays: It wants to make large farms exempt from having to report releases of hazardous substances into the air.
And these guys are supposed to be protecting our environment. Something just doesn't smell right.
Quite a Mouthful
I noted in November that the United States Department of
Agriculture had ordered Tyson Foods, Inc. to remove labels claiming that its chicken was antibiotic free
because the company routinely used antimicrobial agents called ionophores in
its feeds to prevent an intestinal ailment in its birds.
Well, the company has since taken steps to rectify the problem, but not the ones those of us who want to avoid chemicals in our drumsticks might have hoped for. Instead of eliminating ionophores, Tyson has simply fiddled the wording on its packages. Labels will now read: "Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics that impact antibiotic resistance in humans."
Note Tyson's curiously inconsistent use of upper- and lowercase letters in the above. Should somebody be crying foul?
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