Students & Farmers Dump rBGH
Milk in Univ. of Wisconsin Protest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/1/2001

Contact:
John Kinsman, Family Farm Defenders (608) 986-3815
John Peck, UW Greens (608) 262-9036
John Stauber, biotech activist, author (608) 238-7376

UW-Madison Babcock Goes rBGH
Students Dump Tainted Milk in Protest

Friday Nov. 2nd 12:00 Noon, UW-Madison Memorial Union steps

At 12:00 Noon on Fri. Nov. 2nd students, staff, and faculty will be
joined by Elsie the Cow, a Mad UW Scientist, and other concerned citizens
to dump Babcock Hall milk on the steps of Memorial Union. This protest is
in the wake of the UW's recent decision to stop certifying dairy products
sold on campus as "rBGH free," despite widespread health concerns.
"Violating consumer sovereignty and putting another nail into the coffin of
family farmers is a fine way to celebrate Halloween," noted John Peck, a
graduate student in the UW College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).
"The UW obviously cares more about the profits of its corporate partners
like Monsanto then it does about serving the needs of real people in
Wisconsin."

As early as 1986 UW-Madison was caught selling experimental milk from the
Babcock dairy herd on campus and at the hospital without FDA approval.
Since then UW-Madison has continued to peddle rBGH dairy products and other
GMO frankenfoods without proper labeling. Cows injected with rBGH produce
milk with lower protein content and higher levels of IGF-1 - a suspected
carcinogen. Injected animals also suffer a 50% increase in mastitis,
leading to higher use of often illegal antibiotics, which in turn
contaminate milk and the lowgrade fastfood hamburger derived from culled
dairy cows.

According to John Kinsman of Family Farmer Defenders, this decision is also
a violation of the Land Grant College mandate. "UW is supposed to act in
the interests of family dairy farmers, but instead they are promoting
dangerous technologies that are biased to benefit corporate factory farm
operations. Most consumers and farmers don't want rBGH milk - that's why
there is such a booming market for organic dairy products. Yet, Babcock
Hall is choosing to ignore all the serious health concerns raised by Dr.
Samuel Epstein in his new book Got (Genetically Engineered) Milk? and other
health experts from around the world, including the FAO's own Codex
Alimentarius"

"It's pretty simple," adds John Stauber, co-author of such books as
MadCow USA and Trust Us, We're Experts, " there should be no
experimentation without information. Consumers must insist that UW's
Babcock Hall list every biotech trial, safety test, and corporate funder
behind each ice cream scoop before they even dare to order up a cone."

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