Hey friends,

Back again with my lawyer hat on - watching Monsanto in its state by state quest to prevent consumers from knowing what is really in our milk. We beat this back at the Federal FDA, we beat them back at the Federal Trade Commission, we beat them back in Pennsylvania…

Now they are going for Indiana.

A bill introduced in the Indiana House of Representatives by Bill Friend, a rep from the tiny town of Macy, Indiana, would make his state the first to prevent consumers from knowing how their milk was produced.
HB. 1300, which could be voted on any day, is couched as legislation to protect consumers from mislabeling. But it would prevent dairy labels that contain a “compositional or production-related claim that is supported solely by sworn statements, affidavits, or testimonials.” In other words, anything related to the moral or ethical dimensions of the product would be off-limits.

In particular, Friend’s bill would keep dairies from stating that their products were free from the Monsanto product Posilac, a recombinant bovine somatrophin or growth hormone. rBGH, as it sometimes known, is a controversial substance that is grown in E. coli cells, purified, and then injected into cows to increase milk production.

A ban on labeling in Pennsylvania initiated by the state’s agriculture department was turned back by consumer opposition this month! Congratulations for those who spoke up… The Indiana ban, however, would issue from the state’s elected legislature and would become law, not just policy.

For those of you in Indiana, contact your legislators… Here is one way to do it through the Center for Food Safety True Food Network (click here.)

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