For years Monsanto has been lobbying state legislatures and departments of agriculture around the country to harass dairies that won't use Posilac and take away dairies' right to tell consumers they're rBGH-free. Hopefully this will now come to an end now that Monsanto has announced that it is selling its Posilac division that makes bovine growth hormone. (See Following story)
Now we just have to work towards bringing about more awareness of other GMO foods and educate people on their health risks.
St. Louis-based Monsanto announced today it is selling the division that
produces bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH or rBST.
There's no problem with the product, insists the company. During a conference call today, Monsanto's Chrissie Chavis told reporters that Posilac, as it's known
commercially, is a "solid successful product of significant value to dairy
farmers."But nationwide a growing number of consumers and dairy processors feel otherwise. "No artificial growth hormones used" is now commonly displayed on store shelves from Florida to California.
The proposed sale, she said, allows the company to focus on genetically engineered seed. "Our long term growth platform is focused on corn, soybeans, cotton and vegetables. Repositioning the business would ensure that loyal dairy farmers could continue to receive the value of Posilac in their operations."
Posilac, is sold in an injectable form to an unknown number of dairy farmers in the U.S. and internationally. Monsanto refused to divulge sales figures, but insists that
one-third of the nation's cows receive injections. The USDA estimates that
number to be more in the range of 15 percent.
The dairy drug is now made at the company's Augusta, Georgia plant after production problems at its Austrian facility forced it to close earlier this year.
The sale would include the Augusta, Georgia plant facility. In the meantime it's "business as usual," said Chavis about whether operations there would cease.
Monsanto has no timeline for the sale and would not comment to *IB News* on any prospective buyers, though Chavis says the product could complement animal production or pharmaceutical companies.
Consumer surveys show that over the last decade, consumers have rejected buying milk from artificial hormone treated cows.
In the last several years, major retailers such as Safeway, Publix and Kroger have
decided to ban the artificial hormone in their store-brand milk. Starbucks has
refused to purchase dairy from treated cows at its 6,793 company-operated
stores. Chipotle Mexican Grill, a McDonalds spinoff, has banned rBST in its
company stores.
In January, Kraft Foods announced it would offer a line of cheese made with rBGH-free milk, despite assurances from the FDA that it is safe. Glanbia, a high-volume cheese production company in Idaho and New Mexico, will phase out the use of Posilac by next year. Dean Foods, the largest U.S. dairy company now offers a line of rBST-free products.
Recently agriculture officials around the country moved to limit labels on dairy products that disclosed whether they came from treated or untreated cows. In February, consumer pressure led to a reversal of a labeling prohibition in
Pennsylvania.
Has pressure from consumers led to Monsanto's decision? Chavis denies it. "Our core focus is in the seeds and trace business. Since 1994 it's (Posilac) been a very strong product for us. We've sold more doses this year than we sold last year. We see significant opportunity in the future in the U.S. as well as the international markets."
The company plans to continue sales outside of the country, particularly Mexico and Brazil.rBGH is approved for use in 20 countries, says the Monsanto spokesperson, although it is banned in all of Europe, Japan, Australia and other industrialized countries, with the exception of the U.S.
rBGH was approved by the FDA in November 1993 and marketed in February 1994. Studies show that milk from treated cows has an increased level of a spinoff hormone, IGF-1, which causes the cow to produce more milk. IGF-1 is identical in cows and humans, and studies show that it causes cells to proliferate, including cancerous cells.
The Cancer Prevention Coalition's Dr. Sam Epstein says that the IGF-1 from rBGH treated milk is "supercharged" and can lead to an increased number of cancers in humans. Consumers Union cites that elevated mastitis rates among treated cows leads to additional antibiotic treatment in the animal. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics "may pass into humans through milk, air, water or soil, or through ground meat", says Michael Hansen, a senior scientist with CU.Terry Etherton, at Penn State University, says the growth of rBGH-free products is
"part of a smoke-and-mirrors campaign" that means consumers are paying more for
products of questionable value.
Chavis positioned the new face of Posilac as a "green" alternative for farmers. Studies at Cornell University, where Monsanto has funded dairy scientist Dale Bauman
and his studies since the 1990s, show that the drug allows big savings in terms
of feed and land."As the environmental pressure on agriculture gets greater,
this allows dairy producers to produce more milk with less (sic) cows thereby
reducing the overall carbon footprint of milk production," said
Chavis.
Posilac was the first in a long line of genetically engineered products to be introduced by Monsanto, a former chemical company. Monsanto is increasingly focusing on buying seed companies and converting the industry to its own brand of genetically engineered seeds, where qualities of foreign plants or plants and animals are merged to create seeds that can be patented. The company then charges a premium for the seeds and requires farmers internationally to sign user contracts.
More than half of the U.S. soybeans and corn that make up roughly 70 percent of pre-packages grocery store items come from genetically engineered ingredients.Recently, rBGH has been tested on catfish and tilapia to increase growth.
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