Milk Marketing Blog Challenges Tillamook and Dairy Industry to Stand Up to Activist Attacks
Non-profit food and farming advocate claims Tillamook cheese decision will harm farmers, consumers and the environment.
Churchville, VA (PRWEB via PR Web
Direct) March 10, 2005 – The latest “Milk is Milk” blog found at http://www.milkismilk.com/blog.htm by Alex Avery challenges
dairy consumers and industry groups to stand up to misleading activist campaigns
which attack dairy farmers and disparage safe and affordable milk.
Avery
highlights the recent Tillamook Creamery decision to restrict dairy farmers’ use
of a safe, FDA-approved animal health and productivity product in response to
special-interest group demands.
The Center for Global Food Issues (CGFI)
charges that Tillamook Creamery, under attack from activists groups funded by
the organic and natural products industry, has banned its members’ use of
supplemental bovine somatotropin (rbST – also known as bovine growth hormone),
without addressing the serious ramifications for its members, consumers and the
environment.
Supplemental rbST is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration as safe, and according to such organizations as the American
Medical Association and World Health Organization, milk from cows receiving
these supplements is the same, safe nutritious milk from all other
cows.
CGFI adds that supplemental rbST use, which allows dairy farmers to
produce more milk with fewer cows, has measurable positive environmental
impacts.
“Before these anti-technology, pure-food activists showed up,
were any of their actual customers asking for this change? If Tillamook
consumers are at all representative of virtually every piece of credible
consumer research on this subject the answer would be no,” stated Avery. “The
vast majority of consumers care about fresh, safe, nutritious, affordable dairy
products.”
The Milk is Milk consumer education campaign run by CGFI seeks
to end the disparagement of dairy products through activist campaigns and black
marketing – such as labels and advertising, which misleadingly promote absence
claims on such issues as antibiotics, hormones and pesticides.
Avery
contends that responding to activist demands – and the accompanying false and
misleading marketing which often results – limits the tools farmers have to
safety produce affordable milk. CGFI asserts this also creates a downward spiral
in the market place causing increased costs and reduced demands for dairy
products by consumers confused and scared away from dairy products in general.
As a result, Avery claims farmers suffer economic damage while consumers
pay more and consume less dairy products.
“Once Tillamook’s management let
the activist genie out of the bottle, it was hard to stop their media and
propaganda machinery from threatening the company’s reputation and products,”
said Avery. “The activists and those who fund them are the only winners here.
Farmers, consumers and Tillamook are the big losers.”
The Center for
Global Food Issues “Milk is Milk” consumer education campaign Blog has created a
buzz among the dairy industry and continues to draw significant traffic from
media, industry experts and farmers during its first month of existence. The
latest entries are at http://www.milkismilk.com/blog.htm.
The Center for
Global Food Issues is a project of the Hudson Institute, a tax-exempt non-profit
public policy organization, providing factual, science-based information on
important food and farming issues.
Other CGFI and related partner
resources:
http://www.cgfi.org
http://www.milkismilk.com
http://www.milkismilk.com/blog.htm
http://www.stoplabelinglies.com
http://www.highyieldconservation.org
http://www.earthfarmfriendly.com
Contact:
Alex
Avery
Center for Global Food Issues
www.cgfi.org
540-337-6354
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/3/prweb216890.htm