Monsanto is at it again. Their rBGH product, Posilac, which artificially increases milk production in dairy cows, has seen declining sales. They think the solution is to prevent consumers from knowing how their milk was produced, and to that end they've been systematically influencing legislators in dairying states to prevent farmers who don't use the hormone from saying so on their labels. Pennsylvania and Ohio are dealing with this issue right now, and this week Indiana joined the fray.
Indiana HB 1300 would ban the use of labeling that "contains compositional claims that cannot be confirmed through laboratory analysis or can only be supported by sworn statements, affidavits, or testimonials." Monsanto's argument is that milk produced using their growth hormone can't be distinguished in a laboratory from milk produced without the hormone, and therefore labelling milk 'hormone-free' is misleading to consumers because it implies there's a difference.
If you are in Indiana want your representatives working for you instead of for Monsanto, contact your representative.
6 comments:
Over on my Sugar Mountain Farm blog on the Free Color Printer post you asked about the hot dog recipe after looking at the ingredients on the label shown there.
The basic recipe was for a beef hot dog and included both the pink salt (nitrate/nitrite) and corn syrup. We eliminated the nitrates and nitrites which means the hot dogs should be kept frozen until used and we substituted maple syrup - our local version of sugar - for the corn syrup. For this first batch we just made 113 pounds which have sold out instantly. We hope to make another batch in February.
The hot dogs are made using our all natural pastured pork but we don't actually make the hot dogs here on our farm. It requires special equipment, a clean room and a license to do any volume. Rather they are made at a small hot dog and kielbasa company in Massachusetts. More details soon.
Cheers
-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org
Monsanto is evil, check your mutual funds to make sure you don't own their stock, stop eating process food. Don't believe me check out
http://www.amazon.com/Future-Food-Deborah-Koons-Garcia/dp/B000BQ5IXM
Deborah Garcia(widow of Jerry Garcia) produced it FYI she is from Indian Hill, this movie is a MUST watch, it will scare the daylights out of you, it is a fitting companion for books like Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food."
Why drink milk anyway? It's not very natural to sip from another species' teet. :)
Telly, I've never bought that argument. Man is a thinking creature and has figured out how to make all sorts of things that aren't 'natural' foods into useful foods. Rice, oats, and wheat aren't 'natural' foods for us, either -- we had to learn how to change them in order to turn them into useful foods. Man has been using dairy from other animals for thousands of years. We're omnivores, and dairy is just one more example of a food we've learned to use.
I don’t think I ever thought of it that way…very insightful. Thanks for writing back, it’s definitely “food for thought.” Worse pun ever, I know. J
Seriously, though, I really want to thank you for having that blog out there. I’ve just returned to Kentucky after living in Maryland for the past five years. I started eating seasonally available foods from the Chesapeake region while there, and now that I’m back in my home state, I’d like to commit myself to the same task, but on a much more committed and serious level. Your blog has already been a great resource for me. I’m planning to kick off this new endeavor on April 15 and am spending my time up until then to prepare and gather resources. I’m definitely counting your blog as one. Is there a community of locavores in Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati?
Telly, you're so welcome! If you haven't yet, you might check out the Cincinnati Local Foods Group, which is also a great resource!
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