Consumers Want Hormone-Free Milk Labels, New Poll Shows

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Eighty percent of consumers want milk produced without the hormone rBGH to be labeled as such, according to a poll released today by Food & Water Watch.

“Hormone-free and rBGH-free labeling is the way milk producers can communicate information that consumers need to make informed choices for themselves and their families,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch.  “The federal government should not limit information that eight of ten Americans want just to protect Monsanto’s bottom line.”

The U.S. government approved the use of rBGH in milk production in 1994.  In response to increased consumer demand for rBGH-free milk, Monsanto recently asked the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission to restrict rBGH-free labeling.

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The survey, conducted by Lake Research Partners for Food & Water Watch, was conducted among 1000 adults living in private households in the continental United States from February 28 through March 5, 2007

Survey participants were asked:

Some milk comes from cows that have been treated with an artificial growth hormone called rBGH to increase their milk production.  Other milk comes from cows that have NOT been treated with the hormone rBGH.  Some people want to label dairy products according to whether or not they are from cows that have been treated with rBGH.  What do you think?  Should milk from cows that have NOT been treated with the hormone rBGH be allowed to be labeled as “rBGH free,” or should that not be allowed?

Allowed to be labeled rBGH-free - 80 percent
NOT allowed to be labeled rBGH-free - 15 percent
Don’t know - 5 percent


For more information, contact Patty Lovera (202) 797-6557 or download a 1-page results summary at http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/dairy/bovine-growth-hormone/FWWrBGHpoll.pdf

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Consumers can find companies that sell rBGH free dairy products in their state at http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/dairy/rbgh-free-guide

Additional background on rBGH-free milk labels can be found at http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/dairy/bovine-growth-hormone/full-story-rbgh-free-labels

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