Cows Ask Starbucks to Hold the Hormones

Food & Water Watch activists dressed as cows to draw attention to their effort to get Starbucks to switch to artificial hormone free milk. Lacking thumbs and fingers for dialing telephones, the ‚cows" encouraged pedestrians and Starbucks patrons to participate in a national call-in day to request the company use only milk produced without the artificial growth hormone, rBGH.

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Half-a-Dozen Dairy Cows Ask Starbucks To Hold the Hormones

Food & Water Watch Asks Customers to Call Starbucks and

Request Artificial Hormone Free Milk

Washington, DC, Half-a-dozen‚ dairy cows “converged on a Starbucks near the National Mall in Washington DC today to ask the biggest coffee retailer in the world to hold the hormones. Lacking thumbs and fingers for dialing telephones, the‚ cows” encouraged pedestrians and Starbucks patrons to participate in a national call-in day to request the company use only milk produced without the artificial growth hormone, rBGH.

Food & Water Watch activists dressed as cows to draw attention to their effort to get Starbucks to switch to artificial hormone free milk. Among the groups concerns are that injecting cows with artificial growth hormone harms cows and may harm people. Cows treated with this hormone get more infections, which leads to more antibiotic use. Overuse of antibiotics in animal production creates antibiotic resistant bacteria, a serious threat to treating people. Additionally, there is a potential link between rBGH and higher risk of breast, prostate, and colon cancer.

Starbucks promotes itself as a socially responsible company but has refused to join the growing trend of dairies and food companies switching to milk that is free of artificial growth hormones” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter.

An enormous purchaser of milk, Starbucks has been considering offering better milk to its customers since 2001. Starbucks could use its purchasing power to work with dairies to get rid of artificial hormones, just like companies across the country have already done, asserted Food and Water Watch.

I am concerned about what my kids eat. When they come to Starbucks with me, I want them to have milk that is free from artificial hormones that could interfere with their development,” said Joiwind Ronen, a concerned mom in a cow suit.

Numerous companies are requiring their milk suppliers to be rBGH-free, including Ben & Jerry‚ ice cream and Tillamook County Creamery Association cheese. Additionally, certified organic milk cannot be produced with rBGH.

The European Union, Japan, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand do not allow the use of rBGH.

Consumers can find guides to rBGH-free dairy produces sold in their state at http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/dairy/rbgh-free-guide. Consumers can find instructions for calling Starbucks and more information at .