In agreement with Mosanto which invented rBst that milk treated with rBST, recombinant bovine growth hormone which increased cow's milk production, was no difference from the milk not treated with the drug and approved the use of rBST on cow since 1993. FDA does allow label to disclaim the milk is not treated with rBST as long as it also states that no difference exist. Since 1993 I have to read the label and to make sure I did not buy milk or milk products treated with rBST.
In International Dairy Foods Association v. Boggs, the 6th Circuit determined that Ohio’s 2008 law prohibiting the labeling of milk from non-rBST treated cows was unconstitutional under the 1st amendment. The court based this decision in part on its finding that the two milks were different, thus overruling the FDA’s prior determination. The court cites three reasons milk produced by rbST-treated cows is different: increased levels of the hormone IGF-1, a period of milk with lower nutritional quality during each lactation, and increased somatic cell counts in the milk. The court further noted that higher somatic cell counts indicate milk is poor quality and will turn sour more quickly.
Then another bomb shell. I read from a Consumer Report this afternoon about the milk from Cloned Cow on Market and urged consumer to go for organic milk. The following is a short description of how cloned cow (pig, goat ) came about.
An experimental dairy farm in Wisconsin, operated by Infigen, a biotech company, is producing some of the world's first milk from a herd of 21 cloned cows, 17 of them from the same original animal, all genetically identical. After approval for consumer use, the FDA does not require labels on food products from cloned animals. The FDA based its ruling studies in the January 2008 assessment examining the safety of milk or meat came from a translated and severely abridged Japanese report, were performed on rats, or were undertaken by cloning companies. And the FDA had no data on the safety and effect of milk or meat from clones’ offspring. Also the agency only analyzed changes in nutrients (such as proteins and fatty acids) that were found in conventional milk – a mistake, according to the Center for Food Safety.
Kraft states that it isn't selling any products from cloned animals. Other companies that have stated they will not accept milk from cloned cattle include Oberweis Dairy in North Aurora and Dean Foods, the nation's largest dairy producer.
