FTC: Hormone-free milk ads not misleading

According to the Associated Press the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rejected chemical company Monsanto's request to take action against dairies who advertise their milk being free of synthetic hormones.

St Louis based Monsanto claims the ads mislead consumers into believing hormone-free milk and dairy products are safer than those containing recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST, a hormone made by the company used to boost milk production in cows by 10 percent.

The Federal Trade Commission said last week that the ads it reviewed -- by more than a half dozen companies that advertise milk products -- did not make any misleading claims about the safety of rBST.

The FTC decision came during the same week Starbucks announced it would no longer use milk containing Monsanto's hormone -- marketed under the name Posilac. Various grocers, including Safeway and Kroger Co., have already switched to milk without any synthetic hormones.

rBST is banned in Europe and Canada primarily over concerns that it leaves cattle prone to illness. But both the FDA -- which approved the substance in 1993 -- and Monsanto claim the hormone is safe.

Consumerist.com points out:

In 1997, a FoxNews investigative team cracked a story about Monsanto's conspiracy to push bovine growth hormone while ignoring the potential risks to consumers. They were then ceaselessly badgered by Monsanto lawyers and Fox corporate into changing their story, fired, and sued by their employer.

One of the ads, by national milk producer Borden, say, "we work exclusively with farmers that supply 100 percent of our milk from cows that haven't been treated with artificial hormones. So, who do you trust when it comes to your family's milk?"

Monsanto claims that this type of advertising has led to an artificial demand and higher prices for milk from cows without growth hormone.

-Dippold

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