Interesting how competition for shelf space at your neighborhood grocery store is changing how dairy producers make and market milk, according to this interesting New York Times piece, even though the end results still aren't fit to drink.

Producers, looking to position themselves pricewise between conventional and organic milk, are selling hormone-free milk from cows not treated with Posilac, the bioengineered rBST hormone produced by Monsanto that may account for some of the rise in the births of fraternal twins in America.

Unfortunately for some marketers, the FDA also requires producers that advertise hormone-free milk to include a disclaimer stating there's no difference between milk treated, or not, with Posilac. Of course, cartons of regular, average milk made with these unnatural hormones carry no labels warning consumers they contain substances linked to an increased risk of cancer or that the cows given these hormones may be given more antibiotics than others.

All this jockeying for shelf space obscures the real fact, however, that no conventionally produced pasteurized milk -- no matter how many chemicals dairy producers remove -- is good for you at all, which may explain why raw milk consumption is growing.

New York Times October 7, 2006 Registration Required

The Ledger October 7, 2006