Our rights and liberties are slowly being eroded… We want to know what we are EATING! Food matters – all you have to do is look at the last few generations of children to know that there is something very wrong. I urge you to please take some time to write or call concerning this labeling issue. Safeway, Kroger, Starbucks, and other food chains have made a move to only purchase dairy products that have not been produced from cows with growth hormones. The evidence is mounting around the dangers — consumers do not want milk produced from these cows. Monsanto does not want labels on milk that clearly states that the milk was not from cows with growth hormones. We want the right to know!
PLEASE TAKE ACTION – NOW
Today – right now – is the time to take a stand in favor of consumers’ right to know about how our food is produced and farmers’ rights to give consumers that information. PLEASE send an email, letter, fax, or call Ohio’s Governor, Ted Strickland, to let him know that you oppose any ban on rBGH-free labeling.
Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, known as rBGH or rBST and sold by Monsanto under the name “Posilac,” is a genetically engineered hormone that is injected into cows to make them produce more milk. Monsanto’s supporters are mounting attacks on commercial free speech in Ohio and other states, trying to ban the use of labels that identify milk and other foods that are produced without rBGH. If we can make a successful stand in Ohio, we’ll send a clear message to decision makers everywhere that consumers will not allow corporate interests to prevent us from making informed choices about the foods we eat.
Here’s what you can do:
Option 1 – eMail Click here to be taken to a webpage set up by Food and Water Watch that makes it easy to send an email to the Governor.
Option 2 – Phone: Use the points below and make a phone call to the Governor’s Office at (614) 466-3555
Option 3- Letter: Use the points below and send a letter to the Governor. (Please note your name and address!)
You can Fax your letter to the Governor at: (614) 466-9354
Or mail it to:
Governor Ted Strickland
Governor’s Office Riffe Center — 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6108.
Please also send a letter to the editor of your local paper!
Put any of these in any of your own words. Just say what you believe and tell it straight from the heart.
Main points:
Consumers have the right to know what’s in their food.
Dairies have the right to inform consumers what’s in their products.
Other points to stress:
Scientists in the U.S., Canada and the European Union have all questioned the safety of rBGH, especially in increasing the risks of cancer and antibiotic resistance in humans. Codex Alimentarius, the United Nations main food safety body, TWICE decided it could not endorse the safety of rBGH for human health.
In 1994, after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved use of Monsanto’s rbGH, the FDA also said that the following label statement, in proper context, is acceptable: “from cows not treated with rbST.” Earlier this year, Monsanto asked FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to declare these labels to be misleading. On August 21, the FTC wrote to Monsanto, “The FTC staff agrees with FDA that food companies may inform consumers in advertising, as in labeling, that they do not use rBST.”
There is no doubt that rBGH increases disease rates in dairy cows – even the FDA acknowledges this and the health risks are listed right on Monsanto’s rBGH package insert. In addition to having concerns about human health, Canada and the European Union have banned the use of rBGH officially on animal welfare grounds. Virtually every animal protection agency in the country, including the Humane Society of the U.S. and Animal Protection Institute, opposes it.
We’re not confused about these labels and we’re not stupid – we know exactly what they mean. This ban isn’t about protecting consumers, it’s about protecting Monsanto’s profits.
The more consumers learn about rBGH, the more they want rBGH-free products. Our right to make an informed buying decision should not be suppressed by the state of Ohio.
Tell your story straight from the heart – as a mother, father, doctor, nurse, scientist, farmer, dairy processor, retailer, teacher, student, etc.
And please do this: FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE YOU KNOW AND ASK THEM TO ALSO SEND A MESSAGE. Let’s make sure our rights as consumers and citizens are not denied.
