By George Anderson
Monsanto has sued Oakhurst Dairy of Portland, Maine over milk labels that the biotechnology giant claims deceives consumers.
Oakhurst's milk labels include the statement claiming its milk doesn't contain any artificial growth hormones. It reads, "Our Farmers' Pledge: No Artificial Growth Hormones."
Jennifer Garrett, director of technical services for Monsanto's dairy business told the Portland (ME) Press Herald, "They're marketing a perception that one milk product is safer or of higher quality than other milk," said Jennifer Garrett, director of technical services for Monsanto's dairy business. "Numerous scientific and regulatory reviews throughout the world demonstrate that that's unfounded. The milk is the same, and the amount of protein, fats, nutrients, etc., are all the same."
Moderator's Comment: What are your thoughts Monsanto versus Oakhurst Dairy?
To the casual observer, this case may seem as though the big corporate giant (Monsanto) is picking on the small local business (Oakhurst Dairy).
We'd like to suggest, however, this is a suit easily settled by reasonable people.
Scientific research does back Monsanto's viewpoint. Milk from cows injected with bovine growth hormone (bgh) or its scientific name bovine somatatropin (bST) is chemically undistinguishable to that coming from cows not given the hormone. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) backed this scientific view when it approved bST for use on dairy farms.
Oakhurst is correct also. Many consumers do not want milk from cows given bST, no matter the science, either because they don't know or trust the research or because they don't like the idea of cows being given a hormone to stimulate additional milk production. It isn't as if there is a milk shortage we have to deal with.
Our recommendation to Oakhurst would be to change the label to read (presuming it is true) "Milk Produced by Cows Not Given Any Artificial Hormones."
If the dairy did this, Monsanto should pack up its legal briefs and go home.
We're not optimistic reason will win out in this case. [George Anderson - Moderator]