Many of you have probably seen the ads for Yoplait Yogurt where they promise to donate money to breast cancer causes if you send them the pink lids from Yoplait Yogurt containers you have purchased. I recently found out that Yoplait (General Mills owned) uses milk from cows treated with the genetically engineered hormone, recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). rBGH, also known as rBST, is injected into cows so they will produce more milk. Research suggests a number of health concerns, including breast cancer, are associated with the consumption of dairy products from cows treated with rBGH. Even if you don't eat Yoplait, perhaps you will agree that they are acting like they are helping this cause when they are contributing to the problem.
So, I wrote to General Mills through this link, asking them to stop using rBGH in their products:
http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/TakeAction.html
And, the next day I got this response from General Mills customer service:
Thank you for contacting General Mills concerning BST.
BST (bovine somatotropin) is a hormone naturally found in cows. The synthetic version of this hormone (not to be confused with a steroid hormone) has been subjected to extensive testing. The Food & Drug Administration, American Medical Association, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture along with a number of other science-based organizations have concluded that there are no food safety issues in conjunction with milk produced by BST-supplemented cows.
Because BST is naturally found in all cows′ milk, there is no scientific way to test the milk to determine if the BST present is from synthetic sources or natural sources. The amount of BST present in milk will not be greater from a synthetic source than it would be occurring naturally.
For more information about Bovine Somatotropin (BST) or Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) you may wish to visit the United States Department of Agriculture′s website at www.usda.gov.
We hope you will continue to enjoy our products.
Sincerely,
General Mills Consumer Services
Well, that inadequate and incomplete answer certainly didn't satisfy me and I hope it doesn't satisfy you. So I'm passing this information along to you, and including a good chart from Sustainable Table that lists all the companies by state that don't use growth hormones in their dairy products. I know many of you already know this info, but it never hurts to pass it along to someone else!
http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/dairymap/ (just click on Michigan or your state to see the list).
Vote with your food dollars!
Joan
So, I wrote to General Mills through this link, asking them to stop using rBGH in their products:
http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/TakeAction.html
And, the next day I got this response from General Mills customer service:
Thank you for contacting General Mills concerning BST.
BST (bovine somatotropin) is a hormone naturally found in cows. The synthetic version of this hormone (not to be confused with a steroid hormone) has been subjected to extensive testing. The Food & Drug Administration, American Medical Association, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture along with a number of other science-based organizations have concluded that there are no food safety issues in conjunction with milk produced by BST-supplemented cows.
Because BST is naturally found in all cows′ milk, there is no scientific way to test the milk to determine if the BST present is from synthetic sources or natural sources. The amount of BST present in milk will not be greater from a synthetic source than it would be occurring naturally.
For more information about Bovine Somatotropin (BST) or Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) you may wish to visit the United States Department of Agriculture′s website at www.usda.gov.
We hope you will continue to enjoy our products.
Sincerely,
General Mills Consumer Services
Well, that inadequate and incomplete answer certainly didn't satisfy me and I hope it doesn't satisfy you. So I'm passing this information along to you, and including a good chart from Sustainable Table that lists all the companies by state that don't use growth hormones in their dairy products. I know many of you already know this info, but it never hurts to pass it along to someone else!
http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/dairymap/ (just click on Michigan or your state to see the list).
Vote with your food dollars!
Joan
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