The average family drinks about two gallons of milk each week, or 104 gallons a year. On October 31, Ohio families won the right to know what's in that milk, after the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) reached an agreement with plaintiffs, including the Organic Trade Association, to withdraw a controversial dairy labeling rule.

In 2008, the State of Ohio issued an emergency regulation to prohibit labeling dairy products as produced without the use of the artificial growth hormone, recombinant growth Hormone (rbGH).

“This agreement is a victory for consumer choice and transparency. Now, farmers and processors in Ohio will be able to accurately label their milk rbGH-free, and consumers will be able to use this information when they purchase dairy products,” said OEFFA Executive Director Carol Goland. “We applaud the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s commitment to end pursuit of regulations that restrict a consumers’ right to know and a farmers’ right to inform consumers about their production practices.”

The agreement follows a September 30, 2010 U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit decision striking down significant parts of the pending rule created by the ODA to prohibit labeling dairy products as “rbGH-free.”

Critical to the decision was the Court’s reliance on an amicus brief filed by The Center for Food Safety, OEFFA, and other organizations to rule that milk produced with synthetic hormones is different than milk produced without it. Significantly, the Appeals Court recognized the compositional differences in conventional milk compared to rbGH-free milk. They acknowledged that milk from cows treated with rbGH has elevated levels of IGF-1, higher somatic cell (dispersed pus) counts, and lower quality of milk during certain phases of the lactation cycle.

"As approval for new genetically-engineered foods is sought, to have a federal court come down on the side of transparency and consumer choice is a broader victory than just rbGH and milk," said Goland.

rbGH, a synthetic hormone injected into cows to boost milk production, has been linked to an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer in humans and increases the incidence of clinical mastitis and lameness in treated cows. Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia do not allow the hormone to be used in dairy production, and organizations such as the American Public Health Association have called for its ban in the U.S.

Yet, under the ODA’s 2008 rule, Ohio’s dairy producers could not label their milk “rbGH-free" or “artificial hormone free,” and could not make a statement about rbGH on their packaging without also adding: “The FDA has found no significant difference between milk from cows treated with artificial growth hormone and those that have not been treated.”

OEFFA opposed this labeling law from the start, leading the Ohio-based opposition, and coordinating with our national partners, the Organic Trade Association, the Organic Consumers Association, The Center for Food Safety, Food & Water Watch, and Ben & Jerry's.

“After being on every panel, testifying at every hearing, working with our members to write letters and make calls, participating in the first lawsuit, and joining as a partner in the amica curiae brief, we’re pleased to see this multi-year campaign resolved in favor of consumer choice and to have the free speech of dairies and processors restored,” concluded Goland.

Donate — Since 2008, OEFFA worked to overturn the ODA’s restrictive and misleading dairy labeling law. Make a donation now to support OEFFA's continued efforts to protect consumers' right to know what’s in their food.

 

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has deregulated genetically engineered (GE) corn, soybean, cotton, sugar beets, and alfalfa, opening the door for tens of thousands of acres to be planted with these crops. Once released into the environment, GE seed can contaminate non-GE and organic seed. Despite this, Monsanto zealously enforces its patents, investigating and suing farmers for patent infringement when their crop is contaminated. OEFFA is working to ensure legal protection for farmers if their fields become contaminated by Monsanto’s GE seed, and protect consumer choice to safe, healthy food.

While ensuring a clean, safe food supply for consumers is paramount, new food safety regulations could have the effect of squeezing out small farms by creating new layers of bureaucracy for Ohio’s small farmers. With so much on the line, OEFFA is working to demand policies that work in the interest of the small- and mid-sized family farmers who produce some of the country’s safest, freshest, and healthiest food.

Big Ag spent $4 million campaigning for a Livestock Care Standards Board with the authority to regulate all livestock producers in the state. OEFFA is working to make sure that animal care standards protect diversified livestock producers and backyard farmers.

The toxic algae problems at Lake Erie, Grand Lake St. Mary’s, and a growing number of the state’s other lakes are being caused by manure and phosphorus fertilizers washing off conventional farm fields and into our waterways. OEFFA is working to transition more farmers to sustainable and organic production methods so that we can protect Ohio’s lakes for future generations.