Governor Ted Strickland
Governor's Office
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6108

Dear Governor Strickland,

The Nurses Work Group of Health Care Without Harm believes that accurate and complete labeling of foods should require the same standards and practices as the doctrine of informed consent.  Just as a patient expects to be informed of the risks and/or benefits of a medication or treatment, a consumer should be made aware of the contents of food or food products, including residual amounts of antibiotics, hormones, or other drugs that may constitute a potential risk for harm to human health.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is currently considering the issue of banning rBGH-free labeling (recombinant bovine growth hormone-free).  There is no doubt that rBGH increases the disease rates of cows and there is significant scientific data that it may be increasing antibiotic resistance and cancer rates in humans. In contrast to the FDA, scientists and health care professionals in Canada, the European Union and around the world have questioned the safety of rBGH. Most industrialized nations of the world have banned it based primarily upon harm to cows and human health concerns. The Codex Alimentarius, the U.N.'s main food safety body, twice has voted that rBGH could not be declared safe for human consumption. Health Care Without Harm, an international coalition of over 440 organizations in 52 nations that promotes safe practices in hospitals, has a position statement (enclosed) opposing rBGH.

Proponents of rBGH argue that there has to be absolute proof of human harm. If we wait for definitive scientific proof of any issue, including the use of rBGH, we would be acting in a similar manner to the individuals and groups that maintained the safety of tobacco for years beyond evidential studies indicating strong evidence of risk to human health. The Nurses Work Group asserts that the public have a right-to-know exactly what they are purchasing and to individually examine the health issues surrounding any substance used in the production of the product.

Citizens and consumers have a right to know what is or is not in the foods that we purchase. The Nurses Work Group of Health Care Without Harm urges you to support food labels that include a complete list of the substances used to produce that food whether the language used to convey the information is rBGH-free or contains rBGH. We appreciate your attention to this critical matter.

Sincerely,
Karen A. Ballard, MA, RN
Chair, Nurses Work Group
Health Care Without Harm