Hormone-Free Milk Will Lose the Label in Some States

Hormone-free milk labels can be confusing, sure. What, after all, is rBGH? Or rBST, for that matter?

But is a little confusion worth the information? Not in Pennsylvania, according to a decision by the state's agriculture secretary, according to the New York Times. Telling people what's not in a product -- in this case, artificial bovine growth hormones (that's the BGE part) in milk -- is a dangerous form of "absence labeling" that is too confusing to Pennsylvanians, apparently. Ohio may make the same choice for its citizens.

Not that, according to the Times, even one person complained. Not one.

People choose hormone-free milk for a variety of reasons, despite that tests show no discernible difference between the milk from cows pumped up with Monsanto hormones so it produces extra milk. Some believe it is more healthy. Others just find it unsettling to think of a cow made to produce more of such a natural thing -- milk -- than it's naturally inclined to do.

Whatever the reasons for making the choice, Pennsylvania has made the choice impossible. It's a decision that flies in the face of clear -- and growing -- consumer demand for products perceived as being healthier and better for the environment.

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