Tillamook Cheese Rejects Monsanto rBGH

[Guest guest]

Yay!

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

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WESTON A. PRICE FOUNDATION

INFORMATION ALERT

March 3, 2005

 

Tillamook Cheese Rejects Monsanto rBGH

 

Thank you to all who took the time to write to

Tillamook Creamy. Your efforts made a difference!!!

 

Dairy Co-Op Rejects Monsanto Proposal to Drop Hormone

Ban The Oregonian, February 28, 2005 By William McCall

 

PORTLAND, OR (AP) - Dairy farmers whose cows provide

milk for the second largest producer of chunk cheese in the nation

voted Monday to ban a Monsanto Co hormone on schedule, rejecting

pressure

from the chemical company.

 

The Tillamook County Creamery Association said its

members voted 83-43 in favor of the ban on recombinant bovine

somatotropin

hormone, or rBST. " I think this is a confirmation that our members

believe in us, " said Christie Lincoln, association spokeswoman in

Tillamook. " We are a consumer-driven company, so we're keeping consumers

in

mind. "

 

A Monsanto spokeswoman said the company hopes the

dairy farmers will reconsider.

 

" For individual producers, it is unfortunate that

their choice to use a product that has provided a significant economic

benefit for many Tillamook family farms has been limited, " said

Jennifer Garrett at Monsanto headquarters in St. Louis.

 

The dairy association's board voted last May to phase

out the hormone, sold under the brand name Posilac, following consumer

complaints. It was one of the first major biotechnology-related

products to enter the nation's food supply when it was approved in 1993

by

the Food and Drug Administration to boost milk production in dairy cows.

 

Lincoln said the dairy association had been under

intense pressure recently from Monsanto to withdraw the proposed ban.

She noted the company sent its attorneys to Oregon to propose an

amendment

to association bylaws that would have prevented the ban.

 

But 126 of the 147 co-op members met in a special

session Monday at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds to discuss the issue

and

cast their votes to reject the amendment.

 

The ban will be fully implemented by April 1.

 

Rick North, spokesman for Oregon Physicians for

Social Responsibility, called the Tillamook ban a victory for consumers.

 

" They're not only doing the right thing, they're doing

the smart thing, " North said of the co-op vote. " This should be

great for their business. "

 

The medical organization estimates that up to 15

percent of dairy farmers are using the rBST hormone on their herds in

Oregon and nationally.

 

North noted the hormone is banned in a number of other

countries as concerns have increased among doctors and scientists.

 

Canada rejected Monsanto attempts to win regulatory

approval for Posilac after a Canadian Veterinary Medical

Association panel concluded in

1998 that cows ran a 50 percent higher risk of

lameness in the feet and legs using Posilac.

 

Tillamook, which had 2003 sales of $260 million, is

the nation's second-largest maker of chunk cheese behind Kraft

Foods Inc. Tillamook makes cheese, sour cream, butter and other dairy

products.

 

On the Net:

 

Tillamook County Creamery Association:

http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker

<http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker & cmd=track

& j=22396791 & u=204345> & cmd=track & j=22396791 & u=204345

 

 

Monsanto Co:

http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker

<http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker & cmd=track

& j=22396791 & u=204346> & cmd=track & j=22396791 & u=204346

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I wrote to Tillamook before their big showdown with Monsanto and received a very

nice letter in return. The customer service rep who contacted me seemed

genuinely interested in my views on rBSH, and also very appreciative of my

promise to stand by Tillamook as long as they stand by their principles.

 

But don't go looking for an announcement on the label! The following should be

of interest to anyone who plans to purchase Tillamook products in future:

 

Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) does not intend to label its

products rBST-free. Such labeling might cause consumer confusion because the

FDA has determined that milk from rBST-supplemented cows is completely safe and

there is virtually no difference in milk from treated and untreated cows. TCCA

will, however, inform its consumers and customers who ask about rBST that it is

TCCA's policy to require co-op members and contract milk suppliers to certify

that the milk they produce comes from cows that are not supplemented with rBST.

As an Oregon company producing consistently high quality, premium cheeses for

nearly a century, Tillamook prefers the traditional way of doing things.

 

 

jaime