Kansas Agriculture Department Holds Final Hearing on “Hormone-Free” Milk

The Kansas Department of Agriculture this week held its final hearing on a regulation that would ban labels advertising a dairy product as “rBGH free,” “rBST free” or “artificial growth hormone free.” As of January 2010, the measure would also require products marketed as “derived from cows not supplemented with growth hormones” to carry disclaimer language stating, “the FDA has determined that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-supplemented and non-rBST-supplemented cows.”

The department proposed the rules to reduce consumer confusion on the issue, but organic and environmental groups have since formed a coalition to lobby against the regulation. According to the Center for Food Safety, “94 dairy farmers; consumer, farm and agricultural groups; public health, animal protection and environmental organizations; food processors; and retailers” signed a letter to Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D), claiming that the “proposed rule puts unnecessary obstacles in the way of consumers getting the information they
want, restricts free speech rights of dairies and processors, interferes with the smooth functioning of free markets and could lead to increased costs for the state.” See Reuters, December 2, 2008.