Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly News and Commentary

The Center for Global Food Issues Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly news section offers news and commentary from recognized academic and industry experts. Contact us if you would like to contribute to the Center for Global Food Issues Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly news and commentary section.

Propaganda at the public library
Cathy Trueman
April 23, 2007

What better way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon than at the movies?? It was during the introduction that I began to realize that I was about to watch a very one-sided story. The movie was about genetically modified foods.

Fashionable Fear
Dean Kleckner
April 6, 2007

The classic horror writer H.P. Lovecraft--think of him as a 1930s version of Stephen King--once wrote: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” Milk cartons exploit this primal sentiment when they carry labels reading “rBST-free.”

BST: Is Ignorance Winning Over Safe and Sound Science?
Hoard's West
Original article by Dennis Halladay
March 22, 2007

On January 23 the board of directors of the nation's second largest dairy cooperative sent a letter to its members regarding the use of cloning and BST. So begins the lynching of sound and approved science.

Dairy farmers feel emergency
March 22, 2007

AMHERST - Ted F. White doesn't have cable, the Internet or a car. The reason, he says, is that he's a Massachusetts dairy farmer.

Is love affair with organic milk curdling?
February 26, 2007

The middle class's love affair with organic milk might be starting to sour, according to the latest industry data. After years of paying a premium for supposedly healthier milk, shoppers are no longer buying organic milk in ever increasing numbers.

Dean Kleckner Speaks Out: Got Bilk?
February 22, 2007

How would you feel about an everyday product’s shooting up in price - but without any improvement in quality? It’s about to happen to milk - the Great Milk Bilk of 2007. A little misinformation can be a dangerous thing. Dairy farmers are now facing enormous pressure to drop rBST (Quit using it or I won’t buy your milk!).

John Stossel: "Give Me a Break!"
February 22, 2007

Food and Water Watch. Its demonstrations against food irradiation have stalled the irradiation of food in the U.S. Many grocery stores are too scared to carry it. Yet the CDC estimates that 5,000 people die every year from food poisoning. Organizations like the WHO, FDA, USDA, CDC and AMA all say irradiation is safe, but the activists are better at convincing people.

Dairy producers concerned about losing rbST
February 20, 2007

VISALIA, Calif. - Dairy producers, concerned about consumer confidence and facing the loss of a valuable production tool, spoke out Monday and took a tentative step toward organization. More than 100 dairy producers and people employed in the dairy industry crowded the meeting room and voiced their opinions on the marketing of rbST-free milk and the possible loss of artificial hormone as changing dairy technology.

DairyBusiness Communications "Voices for Choices" Campaign
DairyBusiness Communications
February 14, 2007

DairyBusiness Communications’ “Voices for Choices” is aimed at creating
industry support for producers’ opportunities to use safe and approved
technologies, and for safeguarding the image of all milk as a natural and
wholesome product.

Agricultural Podcast Directory Now Available at FarmerFeeds.com
PRWeb
February 12, 2007

Portage la Prairie, MB (PRWeb) February 12, 2007 -- Portage la Prairie MB - FarmerFeeds.Com has been launched as the first website designed to help the farm media communicate better with farmers and the agriculture industry.

Consumer - Farmer Price Difference for “rbST-Free” Milk Demonstrates Retail Price Gouging
Terry Etherton's Blog
Chad Dechow
Assistant Professor of Dairy Cattle Genetics
Department of Dairy and Animal Science
The Pennsylvania State University
February 9, 2007

The evil “Big Oil” companies are under threat of legislation and Congressional investigation for profiteering because they dare to make an entire 9 to 10 pennies per gallon of gasoline. Imagine the fun Congress could have with the folks selling rbST-free milk. For a mere dollar or two extra, you can now buy a gallon of milk from cows not treated with rbST. Only don’t pretend you’re helping out the hard working farmers who milk non rbST-treated cows. They will receive little or none of that premium.

Taking Away Modern Technologies from Dairy Farmers Hurts the Environment
By Troy L. Ott, Ph.D., PAS
Associate Professor of Reproductive Biology
Department of Dairy and Animal Science
The Pennsylvania State University
February 5, 2007

Hold on to your wallets ladies and gentlemen. A number of large dairy processors are getting ready to pull the old “smoke-and-mirrors” trick that will result in you paying more for your milk while at the same time hurting the environment. “How could this be?” you say. Here’s the scam: retailers will sell “rbST-free” milk to you for a premium of about 40 cents to $2.20 per gallon. As discussed in Terry Etherton’s Blog, the milk is not different in composition from other milk, but you will have a vague feeling that it is somehow better. Never mind that rbST has been determined by the FDA to be a safe and effective way to increase milk production by 10-15%. Never mind that it has been shown to be an effective tool to increase the efficiency of dairying. Never mind that it has been approved for use for over 10 years without any documented problems. NONE!

Help poor families: Stop deceptive milk labeling
The Des Moines Register
By Kevin Marchman
February 1, 2007

A bag of fresh apples costs a lot more than a bag of cheese puffs. And guess what most kids prefer? Feeding your children healthful meals has never been easy, especially if you're barely making ends meet. Junk food is cheap, easy to serve and all too tempting for children. But good parents forge ahead, choosing nutritious alternatives, even when they cost more. It's good for the kids, so parents make the sacrifice. That's why it's particularly galling when companies try to take advantage of these well-meaning parents, fooling them into wasting their hard-earned money on false promises of "healthier" or "more nutritious" foods.

Consumer Group Urges Attention to Existing Rules on rBST Milk Labels
nclnet.org
January 26, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC — The nation’s oldest consumer group is urging the federal government to get involved in the current controversy surrounding milk labels, saying the practice of unqualified “hormone-free” labels can confuse consumers and may lead them to make purchasing decisions based on incomplete information.
In a letter from National Consumers League President Linda F. Golodner to Dr. Barbara Schneeman, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements, Golodner expressed the group’s concern over the labeling of milk products as ‘hormone free,’ and ‘rBST free’ citing the FDA’s prior determination that such unqualified labeling appears to be false or misleading for consumers.

John Block Reports from Washington
January 25, 2007

The St. Louis Post Dispatch quotes a mother buying milk. Here’s what she has to say: “I’m not sure what it is, but I think it’s bad."

So, what is so bad? Milk from cows that receive a supplement called bST that increases their milk production. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1993. We’ve already been drinking the milk for 13 years with no ill effects. The milk from a cow that is given the supplement is identical to the milk from a cow that does not receive the supplement. It is indistinguishable. The cow just gives more milk.

No Need to Mooove to rBGH-Free Milk
American Council on Science and Health
By Julianne Chickering
January 17, 2007

With frappuccinos and lattes already pushing $5, Starbucks is making changes that will cause coffee lovers to dig even deeper into their wallets -- needlessly. Starbucks has stopped using dairy products produced by cows given recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) in company-owned stores in a few parts of the country... In an era when "chemicals" and "toxins" are being banned and eliminated from all sort of products without scientific proof such bans are necessary, Starbuck's move away from rBGH-supplemented dairy is unsurprising.

I'll have a cloneburger, medium rare
USA Today (Online Only)
By Andrew Kantor
January 5, 2007

Last week, t he Food and Drug Administration said that cloned animals are safe to eat. This isn't a surprise, of course; cloned animals — the ones that live to term — are really no different than any other animal any more than a test-tube baby is different than a typical one.

Got Milk? Got Hormones? - Exploiting Food Fear
Fearless Voices blog on The Huffington Post
By Dr. Julianne Malveaux
January 2, 2007

The movement to mislabel milk "hormone free" hurts both dairy farmers and consumers. Dairy farmers are pressured to stop using a production tool that boosts milk production and increases their profit and they aren't getting a cut of the extra money dairy processors get from their faulty labels. And consumers pay more for a product that is not at all different from the cheaper product. Got milk? Got hormones? Got truth?

What's the Beef?
American.com
By Henry I. Miller
January 2, 2007

The preliminary decision of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week to permit the consumption of food from cloned animals is a good one. If anything, it’s long overdue, because scientists have known for years that the clones are indistinguishable genetically, biochemically, and nutritionally from the parent. As one farmer who owns a pair of clones of a prize-winning Holstein cow observed, they are essentially twins of “a cow that was already in production....” However, once again, compelling scientific evidence about food safety isn’t preventing controversy.

Bovine Growth Hormone
MSN Health & Fitness
By Rich Maloof
December 21 , 2006

Rich Maloof wrote an article for the MSN Health & Fitness "Reality Check" section about the myths associated with rBST. Maloof reaffirms rBST's safety, noting specifically that the risks of injecting cows with rBST are unsubstantiated; dairy products from cows treated with rBST are identical to products from cows not treated, and that bovine growth hormones, while not actually ingested by humans, are harmless in human bodies. Additionally, Maloof notes that organic and organic-light dairy processors design their milk cartons to sell, stating:

"Cartons can advertise that the milk is produced with no added growth hormones, appealing to the sensibilities of many consumers (especially as the $2 billion organic market thrives).

But there is still zero evidence that recombinant bST poses any health risk. The label could just as well say the milk contains no gasoline."

Commentary: Don't be Afraid of rbST
Health News Digest
By Michael D. Shaw, Contributing Columnist
December 18 , 2006

It's time to get out of the Dark Ages. Rather than indulge in mindless fear, look at the facts. The use of rbST is not a cause for concern. Let science triumph over irrationality.

African-American Organization Urges FDA to Stop Deceptive Marketing of 'No rBST Milk'
AfricanAmericanTimes.net
December 14 , 2006

WASHINGTON, DC – The National Organization for African Americans in Housing (NOAAH), a non-profit advocate for low-income citizens, has called on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to stop dairy processors from deceptively marketing “no rBST” milk, which is identical to other milk but costs more.

Bovine Somatotropin
Feedstuffs
December 4 , 2006

Bovine somatotropin (bST) is a tool used by dairy producers to enhance milk production and improve the efficiency of dairy operations. bST is a natural protein produced in the pituitary glands of cattle. Milk from cows receiving supplemental bST is unchanged.

Dairymen Organize to Protect Technologies
By Sherry Bunting
Special for Farmshine
November 7, 2006

SCHAEFFERSTOWN, Pa. – “There are very important things at stake,” said dairy practitioner Dr. Brian Reed of Agricultural Veterinarian Associates based in Denver, Pa. “Producers have a choice to use or not use technologies that are available. That’s what I’m here to talk about: not to cause conflict but to find common ground. I’m not here to argue the merits of rBST. That was done 12 to 15 years ago during the FDA approval process and in the day-to-day decisions on individual dairy farms. I’m here to reaffirm that all milk is safe, nutritious and wholesome.”

PodCast: Consumer Awareness of Biotechnology - Separating Fact from Fiction
Terry Etherton - Penn State University
Terry Etherton's Blog - November 6, 2006

I had the pleasure of speaking at a meeting of dairy producers in Lebanon County, PA on October 25, 2006 about rbST-free milk, and the tactics that some milk cooperatives are using to force producers who use rbST to STOP supplementing cows with rbST. The highlights of this meeting were reported in depth by Sherry Bunting in the October 27, 2006 issue of Farmshine, and the reader of this Blog is encouraged to read this excellent article.

Today rbST—What's Next?
A Monthly Column by Dennis Wolff, Secretary of Agriculture
PA Farm News - November 1, 2006

HARRISBURG – Recently, there has been renewed attention on the use of rbST (recombinant bovine somatatropin), a synthetic version of the natural protein growth hormone in dairy cattle. Dairy producers can use this product as a herd management tool to increase milk production.

Frustrations Vented Over Questionable Milk Marketing Practices
By Sherry Bunting
Special for Farmshine
Farmshine - October 26, 2006

SCHAEFFERSTOWN, Pa. – Opinions without fact. Decision points without understanding. “We can scare consumers in a 30-second sound-bite, but we can’t educate them in 30 seconds,” said Dr. Terry Etherton, department head and distinguished professor of animal nutrition at Penn State University’s Department of Dairy and Animal Sciences. “Processors and cooperatives need to stand in the light of public understanding with some accountability. The “rBST-free” labeling (and the push to get producers to sign papers) is nothing but smoke and mirrors.”

Organic Milk Industry Reveals Hypocrisy
By Steven Milloy
Fox News - October 5, 2006

Farm Aid benefit concerts are supposed to be about raising money to help family farmers. Last week’s Farm Aid event, however, seems to have had more to do with benefiting the multibillion dollar organic milk industry – at the expense of those same family farmers and the environment.

Food fear is anti-bST marketing tool
Feedstuffs - September 25, 2006

Maybe it was an inevitable development. Dean Foods (annual corporate revenue in excess of $10 billion in the U.S.) has recently announced that it will no longer accept milk in some of its New England processing plants from dairies that use recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) in their cows...The truth is that milk from cows treated with rbST is the same as milk from cows not treated, but if you can create a fear in the public's mind that there is a dangerous difference, then you have a way to differentiate your product, capture market share and charge more for the same milk.

Raw Milk Recall Follows Four E. Coli Infections
North County Times - September 24, 2006

NORTH COUNTY ---- Four Southern California children, including two in San Diego County, have fallen ill with E. coli infections that the state thinks may have come from unpasteurized milk products sold by a Fresno dairy. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has ordered a recall of all raw products from Organic Pastures Dairy Company. Products affected include milk, buttermilk, cream, whey and colostrum, a special milk produced by cows shortly after birth.

Food Agency Rejects Organic Milk Health Claims
Reuters - September 19, 2006

LONDON (Reuters) - The Food Standards Agency said on Tuesday that a study has concluded that organic milk does not provide significant health benefits over conventional milk despite higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

'Organic' label little more than a marketing tool for food, critics say
Kylene Kiang
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - September 10, 2006

Washington — At the local supermarket, the organic fruit and vegetable display is a frequent stop for health-conscious consumers. But turn to the next aisle and shoppers are likely to find a different array of "natural" and "organic" foods.

Organic milk is healthier? Don't swallow it
Alex Avery, The Hudson Institute
Spiked - September 6, 2006

The popular press is going cow-wild over research that supposedly proves ‘organic’ milk is healthier than ‘conventional’ milk. Not quite. Just as two cents might be twice as much as a penny, neither amounts to wealth....The organic food industry has been claiming superior nutrition without evidence for nearly 100 years, and there is little in the new research to change that conclusion.

Organic Milk Health Claims Not Supported By Science
Calorie Lab Calorie Counter News - August 15, 2006

Demand for organic milk, which can sell for up to double the cost of other milk, is booming. Deciding whether to spend the extra money is not as clear-cut a decision as some suggest.

Milk Is Milk Campaign Launches Billboard Campaign in California
Center for Global Food Issues
PRWeb - July 31, 2006

Churchville, VA (PRWEB via PR Web Direct) August 1, 2006 -- The Center for Global Food Issues’ Milk is Milk campaign unveiled two of three billboards that will promote its grass roots campaign of concerned consumers to educate food and dairy retailers (supermarket and grocery chains) regarding false and misleading label and marketing practices. These practices have become rampant in the organic dairy industry.

Milk's Safety
Chicago Tribune - June 13, 2006

This is in response to Tribune health and fitness reporter Julie Deardorff's June 4 column in the Q section, "Twins theory may make you have a cow." We are disappointed that the column didn't clarify that there is no conclusive scientific data to suggest that dairy intake plays any role in multiple birth rates.

Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: 2005 Family Farm Report
USDA's Economic Research Service - May, 2006

Most farms in the United States—98 percent in 2003—are family farms. They are organized as proprietorships, partnerships, or family corporations. Even the largest farms tend to be family farms.

Bacterial Illness Linked to Raw Milk Infecting More People
Yamika Herald-Republic - March 30, 2006

Since the first of the year, the Yakima Health District has seen a spike in the number of cases of a bacterial infection that causes stomach sickness. Many of the 41 cases of campylobacteriosis so far this year might be tied to the consumption of unpasteurized milk and related cheese products, said Marianne Patnode, Communicable Disease Services coordinator at the health district.

Celeb Science Strikes Again
Calgary Herald - March 28, 2006

Heather Mills-McCartney wants people to stop drinking milk because the hormone content of milk may be responsible for increased cancer rates. This is udder nonsense...Time for celebrities to quit having a cow over milk.

Is Whole Foods Wholesome?
Slate - March 17, 2006

It's hard to find fault with Whole Foods, the haute-crunchy supermarket chain that has made a fortune by transforming grocery shopping into a bright and shiny, progressive experience. Indeed, the road to wild profits and cultural cachet has been surprisingly smooth for the supermarket chain. It gets mostly sympathetic coverage in the local and national media and red-carpet treatment from the communities it enters. But does Whole Foods have an Achilles' heel? And more important, does the organic movement itself, whose coattails Whole Foods has ridden to such success, have dark secrets of its own?

Raw Milk: Why Pasteurize?
SafeFood News - Winter, 2006

In recent years, we have seen a growing interest in raw milk among some consumers. Proponents of raw milk suggest that pasteurization destroys nutrients, enzymes that facilitate calcium absorption, and beneficial bacteria present in milk; another claim is that pasteurized milk is associated with allergies. A quick search on the internet using the key words "raw milk" brings up several websites devoted to the far-reaching virtues of raw milk, from calming nerves to reversing malnutrition. Is raw milk the answer to our health issues, or is drinking raw milk a potentially dangerous practice that can cause serious foodborne illness?

Why Milk Has the White Stuff for Children
Lincolnshire Echo - Letter to the Editor - February 8 , 2006

In a nation where many teenagers are not getting enough calcium and rates of osteoporosis are on the increase, it is ill-advised to suggest that milk should be removed from schools.

Milk Doesn't Need Warning
The Toledo Blade - February 3, 2006

PCRM may, indeed, be backing the warning label because of a broader agenda that promotes "vegan" lifestyles. Vegans are vegetarians who don't eat anything from animals...Milk does not need a warning label, which could discourage consumption of a food that is nearly perfect for many people.

Are Organic Foods Oversold?
MarketWatch - January 16, 2006

"The science to date does not indicate a clear and substantial benefit from selecting organic as opposed to conventionally grown products," said Christine Bruhn, director of the Center for Consumer Research at the University of California at Davis, who said she doesn't receive funding from the food industry.

Chow Line: Raw milk can give you a raw deal
ChowLine - January 9, 2006

However, the issue of the type of fat in raw cow's milk is overshadowed by the safety risks of drinking it.... Although advocates of raw milk like to extol its virtues, food safety experts cringe, comparing it to playing Russian roulette. Simply put, raw milk contains all sorts of bacteria -- some that are harmless or even beneficial, some that cause spoilage, and some, such as E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella typhimurium DT-104, that can cause severe illness.

Industry Has Great Opportunities Ahead in 2006, Executives Agree
Cheese Market News - January 6, 2006

Cheese Market News? 10th annual round table, a discussion about a variety of hot topics that affect the dairy industry. Each year, Cheese Market News asks industry executives representing a wide array of companies and organizations to participate in this discussion.

The Organic Food Placebo
The Scientist - October 10, 2004

Are organic foods safer? No. While foods can be unsafe for any number of reasons, normal farming procedures are perfectly safe. The head of the UK Food Standards Agency has written: "A single cup of coffee contains natural carcinogens equal to at least a year's worth of carcinogenic synthetic pesticides in the diet."

Center for Global Food Issues to preview Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly Program
CGFI - October 29, 2003

Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly Seal of Approval offers farmers and consumers more choices

The Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues (CGFI) will preview its new Earth Friendly, Farm Friendly Seal of Approval project to the food and dairy industry this week at the Worldwide Food Expo in Chicago. A farm and environment friendly seal of approval offered as an alternative to organic and other production-related niche marketing, the CGFI seal will assure consumers that products bearing the seal are produced in a manner consistent with the best available scientific, health, environmental and quality standards and technologies.