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California Dairies Inc. to go rbST-free
2/2/2007
Catherine Merlo
California’s largest dairy processor is going rbST-free, a
move Monsanto says will hurt the state’s dairy producers.
Starting Aug. 1, California Dairies, Inc. (CDI) will no longer accept
milk from cows treated with the growth hormone used to boost milk
production, President and CEO Richard Cotta said Thursday.
The reason is “strictly consumer demand,” Cotta
said. “In the end, the customer is king. We felt we needed to
do this from an economic point of view. Demand is greater than we can
now provide.”
CDI processes 45% of the state’s milk production.
The dairy processing cooperative plans to give its 680 members the
option of continuing to use rbST (recombinant bovine Somatotroptin),
“if they’re willing to compensate the co-op for
special handling,” Cotta said.
That would include transportation-related expenses, such as cleaning
trucks and tanks that handle milk from rbST-treated cows.
CDI will also offer those members who want to continue using rbST the
option of an “early out” from their contract with
the co-op.
Cotta said CDI would pay members a premium for milk produced without
rbST, as well as sell it at a premium to customers.
“We’re trying to arrive at fair numbers for
customers and producers,” he said. “We’ll
arrive at those once we know the amount of [rbST-free] milk
we’ll be handling.”
Monsanto, which sells rbST under the trade name Posilac®, said
CDI’s decision would hurt California dairy producers.
“It’s bad news for California dairy producers when
activist pressure groups and shady marketing ploys take away their
choice to use FDA-approved technology,” said Andrew Burchett,
Monsanto’s public affairs manager.
Burchett said producers forced to stop using Posilac lose money. He
also pointed to a questionable movement among retailers to turn away
from products produced with other approved technologies.
“What’s next?” Burchett asked.
“Reproductive hormones? Antibiotics? Pesticides?”
In fact, there is no broad-based consumer demand for farmers to give up
Posilac, Burchett said. The movement to reject milk produced with
artificial growth hormones “is driven by deceptive marketing
ploys and a few activists who oppose most aspects of modern dairy
farming,” he said.
Some processors and retailers promote their products with “no
rbST” labels and ads, which disparages milk and
“that hurts all dairy producers,” he added.
The term “rbST-free” is meaningless, Burchett said.
“There is no distinguishable difference in milk based on
hormone content,” he said. “There is no scientific
test that shows traces of Posilac in milk.”
All milk contains naturally occurring bovine Somatotroptin, Burchett
said. Recombinant refers to synthetically produced bST.
CDI, whose corporate offices are located in Visalia, processes 47-48
million gallons of milk a day. It is one of the nation’s
largest butter manufacturers. Most of its members dairy in the
state’s Central Valley.
The co-op has five processing plants in California, and is renovating a
recently purchased plant near Visalia. That facility is on schedule for
a December 2007 production date, Cotta said.
CDI joins a growing list of processors that are making dairy products
from milk produced without rbST, including Dean Foods, Darigold, HP
Hood LLC, New England’s Oakhurst Dairy, United Dairymen of
Arizona, and Arizona-based Shamrock Farms.
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