The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has banned milk companies from saying on the label that the milk came from cows not treated with a synthetic growth hormone.

Ohio is about to consider a dairy-labeling policy but should not follow in the footsteps of its neighbor.

People want information about their food. They want to know the calorie count, the grams of fat, the fiber content. They want to know the ingredients — whether the food contains nuts, gluten, salt, caffeine, garlic or any number of things that could cause health concerns.

They want to know whether it was grown organically, whether their beef was grain-fed or grass-fed, whether their bottled water came from a mountain spring or the city tap.

The Food and Drug Administration says the hormone recombinant bovine somatotrophin, known as rbST, which is given to some cows to stimulate milk production, is safe. It says there’s no significant difference between milk from cows treated with the hormone and those that are not.

That might be true. But some people remain unconvinced of the safety of rbST. Studies have shown the hormone to be safe, but some people believe that not enough long-term research has been done on humans. Regardless of whether a safety issue exists, if people want the information, give it to them.

Farmers who use the hormone say that telling consumers the hormone isn’t in a product implies that the product with hormone is inferior. The FDA draws a line: It won’t allow a label that says “rbST-free” because that would imply a difference in the milk. No compositional differences have been substantiated. But the FDA says it would not be misleading to tell consumers that milk is “from cows not treated with rbST.” That should be allowed.

One dairy farmer, speaking at an Ohio Department of Agriculture forum, complained that such labeling confuses the consumer and makes the playing field unequal.

He’s the one who is confused. Using a synthetic hormone to boost milk production is an attempt to make the playing field unequal, and withholding information causes confusion.

If people don’t trust rbST, then the industry ought to educate the public. But telling people they can’t have certain information is misleading by omission and makes the industry look as if it’s hiding something.

If people want milk from cows not treated with rbST, then companies ought to be able to provide it — and tell consumers about it.