As for the "warm & fuzzy" feeling you have buying organic, did you know that organically produced milk actually makes a much larger carbon print than milk produced with the use of rbST?

For every one million cows injected with rbST, the POSITIVE impact on the environment is:

Water – Saves 6.6 billion gallons of water every year

Feed – Reduces the amount of animal feed needed by over 3 billion pounds per year

Land – Decreases the land area required for raising cows and growing feed by over 417 square miles

Fuel – Saves more than 5.5 million gallons of gas and diesel fuel every year

Air – Lowers greenhouse gas emissions by 30,000 metric tons per year

Manure – Reduces the manure generated by approximately 3.6 million tons every year

So please, relax! Don't let those "scare mongers" separate you from any more of your money Let them know that you won't be intimidated by their scare tactics!

The huge corporations supplying Walmart with products make huge profits on people that are not informed on what they are ingesting and whether it is altering their health or not since they are completely protected by their enormous wealth and power. They cause confusion and say that certain items and/or additives,chemicals or genetically moditfied ingredients in foods are not linked to cancer, thyroid disorders, ADD, etc, yet if a smart customer would ban these ingredients from their diet, they may experience improvement (if the damage IS even reversible.)

It's sad and scary that our foods have become science experiments and consumers the paying guinea-pigs.

All milk has to pass the same test for antibiotics and pesticides several times before it reaches the grocery store. These tests are so sensitive that they can detect one drop of penicillin in 40,000 gallons of milk.

The reason Wal Mart and others have gone rBST free is not consumer demand. The main reason they went rBST free is what their in business for and that is to make money.

The latest price survey do by the American Farm Bureau found that the average markup on a gallon of rBST free milk is 90 cents or on a 100 cwt. wieght basis, (I get paid for my milk by the cwt. ) is $22.50 higher than commercial milk. The dairyfarmers that produce rBST free milk are receiving an average premium of 50 cents per cwt. About 5% of the remaining $22.00 goes to handling cost. The retailer is making $20.10 more per cwt. of rBST free milk than they are on conventional milk.

I don't care how much money Wal Mart and others make. THey are in business to provide a service and to make money. Many businesses are jumping on the sustainable/green ban wagon and that can be good. But to play on peoples fears and charge more?

I hope Anderson Cooper will asked Wal Mart and others why they see it necessary mark up rBST free milk as high as they do when their costs of rBST free milk is similar to conventional milk. As a dairyfarmer
I think its information the consuming pupilic needs to know.

Bill

Puberty generally starts sometime around the age of ten, but I remember a classmate in 3rd grade (age 7-8) starting her menses that year. At the time, I thought she had "paint on her pants" as did most of my classmates. Anyway, I did not enter puberty till age 15 and menarche did not happen till age 17, almost 18 (sorry if that is overshare).

My doctor (pediatrician) said that my diet played a major role in delayed puberty, more so than genetics. In my case, I stopped regularly consuming milk at age 3. I did occasionally eat ice cream, cheese, and some meals involved the use of diary products such as sour cream in its preparation. I also had minimal meat, but plenty of vegetables, fruits, and alternate protein to replace meat. The fact I consumed little to no meat and dairy means that I was exposed to only very small amounts of animal hormones.

So yes, I believe allowing growing children to consume too many animal products can alter their growth and development.