Terry Etherton’s Blog on Hormones, Biotechnology, and Food Safety

New Data Show Milk Marketing Claims Are Misleading - Scientific Analysis of Retail Milk Samples from 48 States Shows No Difference in Concentrations of bST, IGF-1 and Progesterone; No Antibiotics Found in Milk

ST LOUIS, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Monsanto announced on January 25, 2007 that new data from a national study of milk show that marketing claims implying that milk from cows not treated with POSILAC bovine somatotropin (bST) is safer or healthier are misleading. Scientific analysis of retail milk samples gathered from 48 states showed no difference in concentrations of bST, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), progesterone or nutrients in conventionally produced milk and conventionally produced milk labeled as coming from cows not supplemented with POSILAC. No antibiotic residues were found in any samples. Read the rest of this entry »

Troy L. Ott, Ph.D., PAS
Associate Professor of Reproductive Biology
Department of Dairy and Animal Science
The Pennsylvania State University

Hold on to your wallets ladies and gentlemen. A number of large dairy processors are getting ready to pull the old “smoke-and-mirrors” trick that will result in you paying more for your milk while at the same time hurting the environment. “How could this be?” you say. Here’s the scam: retailers will sell “rbST-free” milk to you for a premium of about 40 cents to $2.20 per gallon. Read the rest of this entry »

Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D.

Distinguished Professor of Nutrition
Department of Nutritional Sciences
The Pennsylvania State University

As a member of the USDA/HHS Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2005, I was a strong proponent of the recommendation to increase milk/dairy product consumption from 2 to 3 servings per day. This recommendation was made on the basis of the contribution that milk and dairy products make to achieving nutrient adequacy. Read the rest of this entry »

REVIEW & OUTLOOK (Published on January 20, 2007; Page A10)

Starbucks advertises itself as a coffee company with a social conscience. These are the folks who created the marketing gimmick of “fair trade” coffee for America’s latte drinkers. So it’s no shock that Starbucks announced this week that it will buckle under to pressure from left-wing activist groups and phase-out its purchases of milk containing artificial growth hormone. Read the rest of this entry »

Terry Etherton

A friend forwarded the email below, which was distributed by Food & Water Watch, an activist group at the forefront of the effort to have Starbucks adopt rbST-free milk. Read the rest of this entry »

Terry Etherton

As a scientist, I am stunned by the factors that are driving policy-making at every level today—from Capitol Hill, to the boardroom, to the kitchen, decision-makers are increasingly influenced by a constituency whose credibility should at best be questioned and at worst be dismissed absolutely. According to wikipedia, the scientific method “is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge, as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. It is based on gathering observable, empirical, measurable evidence, subject to the principles of reasoning[1]. Read the rest of this entry »

Terry Etherton

Summary

Since the onset of the modern era of biotechnology in 1973, scientists have made impressive strides in developing new biotechnologies for agriculture (reviewed in Metabolic Modifiers, 1994; Etherton et al., 2003). Biotechnologies that enhance productivity and productive efficiency (feed consumed/unit of output) have been developed and approved for commercial use. Technologies that improve productive efficiency will benefit both producers and consumers because feed provision constitutes a major component (about 70%) of farm expenditures. Advances in biotechnology research have allowed impressive improvements to be made in diagnostic approaches, increasing microbial safety of food and improving animal health (reviewed in Etherton et al., 2003). Read the rest of this entry »

After being approved for over ten years, the recent move to ban rbST use caught us by surprise. It seemed in the distance, since the movement was occurring on the east and west coasts. Then, in September 2006 we came face to face with the issue when our local co-op board (Prairie Farms) began discussing a ban on rbST use. Read the rest of this entry »

To Pennsylvania Milk Producers:

The October grassroots producer meeting held in Schaefferstown, PA to examine the so-called “rbST-free” issue is getting some results, and it looks like we can keep this technology available to us if we take action now. Read the rest of this entry »

Terry Etherton

On December 28, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft risk assessment (RA) on whether cloning affects food safety or animal health, and whether food products from livestock should be sold for consumption. The draft, “A Risk-Based Approach to Evaluate Animal Clones and Their Progeny – DRAFT” (visit http://www.fda.gov/cvm/CloneRiskAssessment.htm), presents the FDA’s position. The risk assessment concludes that “….the available data has not identified any food consumption risks or subtle hazards in healthy clones of cattle, swine, or goats. Thus, edible products from healthy clones that meet existing requirements for meat and milk in commerce pose no increased food consumption risk(s) relative to comparable products from sexually-derived animals.” Read the rest of this entry »