Milk labeling battle broadens as Kroger, Wal-Mart enter fray; Monsanto respondsmp1

The Kroger Co. is the latest big retailer to jump into the fray over how to label milk.

Kroger wants to tell consumers in more than 3,200 groceries and convenience stores through a product label that the milk produced and sold by Kroger dairy plants is free of a hormone produced by Monsanto called Posilac or rBST, according to an article by John Eckberg of The Enquirer. The substance, injected into cows, can boost milk production by 10 pounds per day, the March 23 article noted.

Wal-Mart announced March 21 that its Great Value milk is now being sourced exclusively from cows that have not been treated with artificial growth hormones like recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST). Sam’s Club, the warehouse club owned by Wal-Mart, is also exclusively offering milk selections from suppliers that have pledged not to treat cows with rbST.

Wal-Mart noted that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that milk from cows treated with rbST poses no risk to human health, but it said many Wal-Mart customers have expressed a desire for “milk choices.”

“We value our customers’ opinions and understand how important variety is in all aspects of the business,” said Pam Kohn, senior vice president, general merchandise manager, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “We’ve listened to customers and are pleased that our suppliers are helping us offer Great Value milk from cows that are not treated with rbST.”

Wal-Mart said suppliers of the company’s Great Value milk have pledged to source exclusively from cows that have not been treated with artificial growth hormones.

On a portion of its Web site titled “Responses to Recent Media Reports,” Monsanto Co. posted the following about the ongoing controversy:

“Posilac is a proven tool for increasing dairy cow milk production and profitability. Supplementing dairy cows with bovine somatotropin safely enhances milk production and serves as an important tool to help dairy producers improve the efficiency of their operations. “Recently, there has been an increase in discussions that would limit dairy producer’s choice to use FDA-approved technologies like Posilac bovine somatotropin, a product with a 12-year track record of efficacy and safety. This has been a challenging issue for dairy producers who choose to use this product. “Bovine somatotropin, or bST, is a natural protein produced in the pituitary glands of all cattle and it helps adult cows produce milk. Milk from cows receiving supplemental bST is unchanged and just as wholesome and nutritious as always - full of calcium, protein, phosphorus and vitamins. In fact, the level of bST in milk remains the same. “Because Posilac benefits large and small herds alike, it can play a critical role in helping farmers both in the United States and around the world. The use of supplemental bST allows dairy farmers to produce more milk with fewer cows, thereby providing dairy farmers with additional economic security as well as providing related environmental benefits. “Many farmers who use Posilac and other FDA-approved tools to increase their efficiency and profitability are concerned that milk marketing strategies that target these safe, effective technologies will harm their livelihoods and futures.”