rBGH
rBGH is a genetically engineered variant of the natural growth hormone produced by cows. Sold to dairy farmers under the trade name Posilac (formerly owned by Monsnato, now owned by Eli Lilly), injection of this hormone forces cows to boost milk production by about 10%, while increasing mastitis, lameness, and reproductive complications.
Thanks to consumer pressure (including OCA's Millions Against Monsanto campaign), major retailers, dairies, and cafes, from Kroger to Starbucks, have commited to sourcing milk from rBGH-free cows.
A group of Ontario farmers is claiming victory after Monsanto Co. agreed to sell its Posilac brand of synthetic cow hormones to drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. for $300 million.
Dave Mackay, president of the Renfrew County chapter of the National Farmers Union (NFU) and a former dairy farmer in Beachburg, Ont., told CBC News Friday that the sale is good news. Mackay, now a sheep farmer with a flock of 300, speaks for 150 farmers in Renfrew County.
"We think it's a bit of a victory," he said from his 200-acre farm near Pembroke, Ont. "We are pleased. I think we have won.
Read moreEli Lilly's Elanco division will pay more than $300 million for Monsanto's artificial dairy cow hormone that increases milk production but faces mounting public concerns over its safety.
The Indianapolis drug maker, which has been investing more heavily in its animal health business in the past two years, said it is ready to take on the task of promoting the BST hormone, called Posilac, as a farming tool that can boost milk supplies for a world hungry for more dairy products.
Posilac opponents point to studies that show cows given Posilac have higher rates of udder
Read moreElanco Buys rBGH From Monsanto
Elanco, a division of Indianapolis-based drug giant Eli Lilly and Company,announced today it was buying the rBGH (Posilac®) division of Monsanto for $300 million, plus unspecified fees in the future. Elanco will also get Monsanto's manufacturing plant in Augusta, GA, along with its employees. The deal is expected to be final in October.
For the last 10 years, Elanco has sold rBGH for Monsanto outside the U.S., primarily in Mexico, Brazil and South Africa. One of the main reasons they cited for the purchase is the growing
Read morePRESS RELEASE
CONTACT:
(317) 277-7464 Joan Todd (Elanco)
(317) 276-5795 - Mark Taylor (Lilly)
Elanco Announces Acquisition of Read more
Dear Dr. Barnard,
In the early 1990s, the Food and Drug Administration reviewed a very flawed study funded by Monsanto, the sole manufacturer of the genetically engineered bovine growth-hormone rBGH. If you want to know just how flawed that study actually was, read the detailed reports from the University of Vermont. It is clear from their report they feel pretty bad about being duped into complicity with Monsanto and how such a flawed study could be used to support a product causing such clear problems in animals -- over 15 different problems in fact -- from increased rates of
Read moreWho is going to buy rBGH? Nobody right now. Monsanto will continue to produce rBGH for the short-term and likely eliminate its production all together if no one steps up to buy it quickly. Though it is possible that rBGH will get sold off to another corporation or subsidiary, or morphed into a new application, like growth hormone for Read more
WASHINGTON - August 13 - The Dairy Subcommittee of the National Family Farm Coalition today expressed its delight that Monsanto will be selling its controversial Posilac division. From the very beginning, NFFC has opposed Posilac, also known as recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), and lobbied against its legalization by the FDA in 1993. NFFC Dairy Subcommittee chairman Paul Rozwadowski, a Wisconsin dairy farmer, said, "NFFC has always been very skeptical of the environmental, public health, animal welfare and ethical impacts concerning rBGH. FDA never did proper testing regarding
Read moreSeveral countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, and the European Union have banned rbGH because of its impacts on human and animal health.
OCA's "Millions Against Monsanto" campaign has generated over a quarter million emails and petition signatures on the topic of Read more
After struggling to gain consumer acceptance, Monsanto on Wednesday announced that it would try to sell its business of producing an artificial growth hormone for dairy cows. The company will focus instead on its thriving business of selling seeds and developing ways to improve crops.
The decision comes as more retailers, saying they are responding to consumer demand, are selling dairy products from cows not treated with the artificial hormone.
Wal-Mart, Kroger and Publix are among the retailers that now sell house-brand milk from untreated cows. Almost all of the fresh
Read moreThe Organic Trade Association last month filed suit against a new milk labeling rule in Ohio that bans statements about production methods, such as "no artificial hormones."
This suit was the latest bid to block the lobbying by Monsanto Corp. advocates, who are seeking to limit milk labels state-by-state. The International Dairy Foods Association filed suit too.
If successful, the label limitations would prevent consumers from choosing milk
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for rBGH
