I scream, You scream, We all scream for ice cream. Except at Ben and Jerry's, where, apparently, they scream for junk science.
Ben and Jerry's Homemade, Inc. has won the right from the state of Illinois to label its products as being free of milk from cows treated with recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) — a cow treatment that increases milk production.
According to The Washington Post, Ben and Jerry's originally wanted to say their products were rBGH free, but Illinois protested that it was impossible to prove and it implied that milk from treated cows was harmful — an implication without scientific support.
The agreed upon label reads as follows:
We oppose recombinant bovine growth hormone. The family farmers who supply our milk and cream pledge not to treat their cows with rBGH. The FDA has said no significant difference has been shown and no test can distinguish between milk from rBGH treated and untreated cows.
So Ben and Jerry's wants its customers NOT to trust the FDA (and scientific data). Instead the company expects its customers to trust an "pledge" from its "family farmer" milk suppliers — a pledge that even Ben and Jerry's can't verify.
Oy ve.
But I must confess, I do love their ice cream. Chunky Monkey is fantastic. Perhaps, though, their next flavor should more appropriately be named Phoney Baloney.
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Copyright © 1997 Steven J. Milloy. All rights reserved. Site developed and hosted by WestLake Solutions, Inc.