Monsanto's Intimidation Tactics Continue

Headline: Monsanto Unit Challenges Vt. Cow Hormone Licensing Bil Wire Service: DJ (Dow Jones)

Date: Wed, Jan 14, 1998

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)--Monsanto Co.'s (MTC) Protiva unit said it will stop selling the artificial bovine hormone recombinant Bovine Somatrotropin, or rBST, in Vermont if a bill requiring that it be licensed passes the Legislature.

In a Jan. 7 letter to members of the Vermont dairy industry and to Gov. Howard Dean and Agriculture Commissioner Leon Graves, Protiva said forcing licensure would "severely disrupt previously private business activity; and it would do so in the absence of any legitimate state interest sufficient to justify the intrusion into your privacy."

The company said if the measure were passed into law, it would challenge it in court and stop selling its products in Vermont. "Unfortunately, while this challenge was under way, it would be impossible for us to distribute rBST in Vermont and we would be forced to leave the market," said the letter from Cheryl Morley, the president of Protiva.

The bill in question calls for any supplier of rBST who sells or distributes the artificial hormone to be licensed by the agriculture commissioner. Suppliers would be required to maintain records of purchasers' names and other information. And the licensing provision establishes a method of verifying producers' claims that they did not use rBST in the making of milk or dairy products offered for sale in Vermont.

With that provision, the state can keep track of who is using rBST and who is not, said Rep. Jenny Nelson, D-Ryegate, a member of the conference committee that approved the measure. There is no licensing fee. Dean said he would veto the bill because of the licensing provision, which he opposes not because of Monsanto's threat but because he knows farmers are against it. The bill also seeks to authorize a voluntary labelling program so consumers can select dairy products made without the use of rBST.

(END) DOW JONES NEWS 01-14-98 06:21 PM

Copyright 1998 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.

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