Alex Avery
Many mainstream news sources and blogs continue to erroneously report that the marketing of milk from rbST-treated cows has been banned in many nations. This is simply not true and further evidence of the shoddy research that many reporters conduct when writing. Those who are against GM foods prefer language such as “banned†because it makes readers and consumers believe that a product is unsafe or illegal. However, rbST use has not been “banned†in Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia or New Zealand, as is commonly reported. True, rbST has not yet been approved for use in those nations, but the glaring omission is that dairy from rbST-treated cattle is allowed to be imported and sold in these countries. Further, the reason rbST has not been approved in these nations is somewhat because of concerns about animal health but largely about trade protectionism ; all of these countries have found rbST safe for human consumption.