Dairy in the News

Don't Cry over rBST Milk

This is a link to an editorial that ran in the New York Times June 29, 2007. I strongly encourage everyone to read it, because it gives a sparkling clear argument in favor of milk produced with rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin), otherwise known as bovine growth hormone. Basically, farmers can produce more milk with fewer cows, and the author of the editorial, Henry Miller, lists a number of benefits that arise from that simple fact. What it comes down to is that fewer resources, whether they be food, water, or fuel, are used to produce the same amount of milk when rBST is used, and that makes rBST environmentally friendly. Milk that is rBST-free is indistinguishable from milk produced using rBST; when you purchase milk labeled "rBST-free" you place your trust in the farmer who produced that milk, because there is no test to tell if milk has been produced with rBST.

Coincidentally, our farm received a letter from Agri-Mark, the co-op that buys our milk, telling us that they are having a hard time marketing our milk to processors (the companies that turn raw milk into dairy products) because we use rBST.

Please do not get drawn into thinking that rBST-free milk is better because it is more expensive. Do not buy milk or dairy products labeled rBST-free. You will simply be supporting false advertising.

(Image from nytimes.com)

Don't Cry over rBST Milk