[Info] Artificial hormones in cows' milk on Boston Globe front page -- 9/25/06

[Guest guest]

The Monday, September 25 Boston Globe has a front page story headed, "2

Dairies to End Use of Artificial Hormones; Hope to Compete with Organic

Milk."

 

It opens:

"The region's biggest dairies are rushing to rid their bottled milk of

artificial growth hormones in a bid to draw back customers who have

switched to organic milk.

 

"Dean Foods, which operates the Garelick plant in Franklin, and H.P.

Hood, which operates a plant in Agawam, are demanding that regional

farmer cooperatives supply them with milk from cows that haven't been

injected with synthetic hormones that boost milk production.

 

"Over the next few weeks, jugs of Hood and Garelick milk with labels

pledging 'no artificial growth hormones' should start filling

supermarket shelves a strategy the dairies hope will satisfy the chief

concern of consumers going organic and do so at less than half the

retail price of organic milk."

 

Demonstrating that artificial growth hormones are not the only concern

of organic milk buyers, we read:

 

"But Nasser Hussain, a teacher from Boston, said he buys organic milk

largely because he opposes industrial farming. 'Organic to me means

they let the cows out of the pen,' he said."

 

(Note: Unfortunately that is somewhat misleading. An August 20 front

page story in the Chicago Tribune shared complaints that cows on large

organic dairy farms are hardly able to graze. It referred to guidelines

being sought by the Organic Standards Board that would organic require

dairy cows to get about one-third of their diet from pasture four

months out of the year -- i.e. one ninth of their diet from pasture.

See http://tinyurl.com/mz56s

for more on that Tribune story.)

 

You'll find today's front page Globe story at:

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/09/25/2_dairies_to_end_use_of_artificial_hormones/

OR http://tinyurl.com/o6blp

 

It opens the door for letters about the treatment of cows on dairy

farms, and from those who have found happy substitutes for cows' milk.

A good source of information is www.dumpdairy.com

 

The Boston Globe takes letters at letter (AT) globe (DOT) com

 

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when

sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be

published.

 

Yours and the animals',

Karen Dawn

 

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal

issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant

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