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Groups seek veto of milk labeling legislation By Chris Green - Harris News Service4/6/2009 Sierra Club spokeswoman says bill not needed, infringes on the rights of consumers. TOPEKA - Groups opposed to new limits on dairy labeling plan to ask Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to veto legislation requiring disclaimers to accompany certain claims. A still-forming coalition involving the Kansas Sierra Club and several other groups are against House Bill 2121, which passed the Legislature in final votes last week. The measure requires dairy products claiming to be from cows that don't receive injections of artificial bovine growth hormone to include a disclaimer on their labels. The qualifier must state that the Food and Drug Administration has found no significant differences between milk from cows supplemented by the hormone, commonly known as rbST or rBGH, and milk from cows that are not. Stephanie Cole, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Sierra Club, said the bill was unnecessary and would infringe on consumers' rights to know what's in their food. "It is our hope that the governor will veto the bill," Cole said. Sebelius spokeswoman Beth Martino wouldn't say Monday whether Sebelius planned to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without her signature. Martino would only say that Sebelius would carefully review the bill when she receives it. In addition to the labeling requirements, the legislation also requires dairy plant operators to verify labeling claims that the milk comes from cows that don't receive rbST injections with an affidavit from a milk producer. Supporters of the new labeling requirements say that the changes are needed to keep consumers from being misled about the health and safety of certain milk products. Since all milk has levels of natural levels of bovine growth hormone in it, they say there's no scientific way to distinguish whether milk comes from a cow supplemented by rbST. Jim Reed, a Jewell County dairy farmer and president of the Kansas Dairy Association, said he was hopeful that Sebelius would sign the measure. "I guess it's my hope that the governor would be able to understand that it's a consumer-protection issue," said Reed, whose group was a chief supporter of the bill. Reed said a court ruling last month upholding a stricter labeling rule dealing with dairy products in Ohio would enhance the Kansas bill's chances of becoming law. Unlike the Ohio law, the new labeling restrictions in Kansas would not apply to products certified as organic under U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines. Although the FDA has vouched for rbST's safety, some consumers are concerned that the artificial hormone causes health problems for cows and that it elevates another hormone in cows' milk that is also linked to increased cancer rates in humans. Critics of the Legislature's bill, including Rep. Josh Svaty, D-Ellsworth, have expressed concern that the restriction could threaten the sale of popular specialty dairy products within Kansas, such as Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream. Svaty has also said the state itself has a growing contingent of smaller dairy producers specializing in producing milk from cows that don't receive rbST injections. "They have a large and growing clientele of people who appreciate that," Svaty said during a debate in the Kansas House on Friday. |
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