This is one that’s NOT organized by City Hippy and myself — but one that we support :)
The Food and Water Watch and the Organic Consumers Association kicked off its week of action today. The action: Coordinate or participate in leafleting a Starbucks store this week, urging Starbucks to stop using rBGH milk.
I’d like to remind you that rBGH is milk with pus swirled in.
I’m not a big leafleter — I’m shy that way. I’m more into, say, asking for organic milk with coffee — something that Starbucks says it’ll offer to customers who ask for it, although many have found it difficult to get that Starbucks fulfilled… Sound familiar?
For the non-leafleters: What you can do, with some help from the Food and Water Watch:
1. Find out more about Starbucks and rBGH.
2. Email or call Starbucks- tell them to buy milk made without rBGH!
3. Give your local Starbucks this handy card, asking them to stop using rBGH.
4. Distribute Starbucks postcards (email food@fwwatch.org for these) to your friends, family, or at farmer’s markets, which urge them to go rBGH-free.
Got a few mins and have a high speed connection? If you haven’t already, check out the Meatrix, I and II. My fave character: Moopheus, right :P
Update: Here’s Steven Milloy’s take on the campaign. (via Grist)
Update, 7/3/06: The rBGH free milk campaign’s taking off! Dean Foods, Wal-Mart and Kroger, among others, are reportedly on a nationwide search for rBGH-free milk.
For people who are not so well informed :”Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, also called recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST). This is a genetically engineered hormone that is injected into dairy cows to increase their milk production. Cows injected with rBGH have shorter life spans and are much more likely to suffer from udder infections. rBGH is only legal in three countries: the United States, South Africa, and Mexico.”
Comment by Charlie Karpowsky — June 20, 2006 @ 8:40 am
Also, it should be noted that it is increasingly feasible to source rBGH-free milk as more and more of the nation’s diaries & milk processors are choosing to avoid it. For example, in NJ & ME Garelick Milk (a market leader) is dropping the use of rBGH. And major retailers, like Kroger and, yes, Wal-Mart, are looking for rBGH-free milk, so all the more reasaon STBX should add it’s considerable weight to the return to natural milk.
see this for more on the anti-rBGH bandwagon:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_747.cfm
Comment by Rodney North — June 20, 2006 @ 1:30 pm
Hey Charlie — Thanks for clarifying for those less familiar with the rBGH issue :) And hope you’re enjoying live in SoCal, btw :)
I actually had no idea that Walmart was now lookiing for rBGH-free milk! And so gross that Monsanto’s trying to lower prices for rBGH to compete! Ugh –
Comment by Siel — June 26, 2006 @ 2:55 pm