In a last ditch effort to quell the strengthening movement away from use of Bovine Growth Hormone, chemical manufacturer Monsanto is backing a new farmers' advocacy group aimed at swaying public opinion. American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology was organized by consultants for Monsanto, the company that manufactures the recombinant bovine somatotropin product Prosilac, as well as other agricultural chemicals like Round-up.

Use of recombinant bovine growth hormone increases milk production, but has not gained approval in many countries, and is meeting increased market resistance in the US, where there is a clear preference for milk produced without artificial growth hormones. Retailers such as WalMart are now labeling milk as coming from cows not treated with the hormone. Observers interpret Monsanto's creation of this advocacy group as an omen that bovine growth hormone is losing its foothold in the marketplace, as consumers demand more natural food products.

The full article follows.

-zties

Backlash Squeezing Dairy Hormone
By Andrew Martin
The New York Times
03/10/2008 12:10:49 AM MDT

It may be the last stand of Posilac.

A new advocacy group closely tied to the agriculture company Monsanto has started a counteroffensive to stop the proliferation of milk that comes from cows that aren't treated with synthetic bovine growth hormone.

The group, called American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology, says it is a grassroots group that came together to defend its right to use recombinant bovine somatotropin, also known as rBST or rBGH, an artificial hormone that stimulates milk production. Monsanto sells it under the brand name Posilac.

Dairy farmers are indeed part of the organization. But AFACT was organized in part by Monsanto and Monty G. Miller, a Colorado consultant who lists Monsanto as a client.
AFACT has also received help from Osborn & Barr, a marketing firm whose founders include a former Monsanto executive. The firm received a contract in 2006 to help with the Posilac campaign.

Lori Hoag, a spokeswoman for the dairy unit of Monsanto, said her company did provide financial support to AFACT. But Hoag emphasized that the group is led by farmers, not Monsanto.

"They make all the governing decisions for their organization," she said. "Monsanto has nothing to do with that."

AFACT has come together as a growing number of consumers are choosing milk that comes from cows that are not treated with the artificial growth hormone. Even though the Food and Drug Administration has declared the synthetic hormone safe, many other countries have refused to approve it, and there is lingering concern among many consumers about its impact on health and the welfare of cows.

The marketplace has responded, and now everyone from Whole Foods Market to Wal-Mart sells milk that is labeled as coming from cows not treated with the hormone. Some dairy industry veterans say it's only a matter of time before nearly all of the milk supply comes from cows that weren't treated with Posilac.

According to Monsanto, about a third of the dairy cows in the United States are in herds where Posilac is used.

And the trend might not stop with milk. Kraft is planning to sell cheese labeled as having come from untreated cows.

But consumer demand for more natural products has conflicted with some dairy farmers' desire to use the artificial hormone to bolster production and bottom lines, and it has certainly interfered with Monsanto's business plan for Posilac.

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_8514408