Co-op Dairy Suppliers and Bovine Growth Hormone Status 2006-2008
Every two years, the Co-op updates the list of dairy products we carry from farmers who do not treat their herd with synthetic bovine growth hormone.
What is Bovine Growth Hormone?
Bovine somatotropin (bST), or bovine growth hormone (BGH), is a protein hormone that occurs naturally in the pituitary gland of cattle.
The synthetic version of this hormone is called rbST or rBGH. The “r” stands for the word recombinant, meaning that the product is genetically engineered. The use of synthetic bovine growth hormone can increase milk production in dairy cows. Its application is specific to dairy cows; it is not used on other dairy animals, such as goats, sheep, or water buffalo.
A Very Brief History
The World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the American Dietetics Association, and the National Institutes of Health have independently confirmed that dairy products and meat from rBGH treated cows are safe for human consumption. The use of rBGH to treat dairy cows was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993. However, other countries, including Australia, Canada, the European Union, and New Zealand, do not permit its use. Cheeses imported from these countries are free of rBGH.
Some consumers wish to avoid milk from cows treated with rBGH because of their personal concerns about its human health effects. Others wish to avoid it as part of their strategy to support small local farms and the use of sustainable resources.
The following Co-op suppliers offer products exclusively from their own herd and/or are organic and do NOT use rBGH:
Blythedale Farm (cheese)
Boggy Meadows Farm (cheese)
Butterworks Farm (organic yogurt and cream)
Cabot (cloth-bound cheddar only)
Champlain Valley Creamery (organic cream cheese)
Cobb Hill Cheese (cheese)
Co-op Milk
Echo Farm (puddings)
Erivan Dairy (yogurt)
Helios Nutrition Ltd. (organic kefir)
Horizon Organic Dairy (organic milk, cheese, and cream cheese)
Humboldt Creamery (organic ice cream)
Jasper Hill Farm (cheese)
McNamara Dairy (milk)
Nancy’s (organic yogurt)
Neighborly Farms of Vermont (organic cheese)
Organic Ben and Jerry’s (organic ice cream)
Organic Cow of Vermont (organic milk)
Organic Valley (full line of organic dairy products)
Point Reyes Farmstead (cheese)
Seven Stars Farm (organic yogurt)
Shelburne Farms (cheese)
Stonyfield Farm Organic (organic milk, yogurt, ice cream and frozen yogurt)
Strafford Organic Creamery (organic milk, cream and ice cream)
Taylor Farm (cheese)
Thistle Hill Farm (organic cheese)
Westminster Dairy (organic cheese)
The following Co-op suppliers have stated that their products do NOT contain rBGH:
All Season’s Kitchen’s (cream cheese)
Ben and Jerry’s (not including add-ins) (ice cream)
Brown Cow Farm (yogurt)
Cascade Fresh, Inc. (yogurt)
Crowley Cheese Inc. of Vermont (cheese)
Doriti Gelati Italian Gelato (gelato)
Fage Total Yogurt (yogurt)
Giffords Ice Cream (ice cream)
Grafton Village Cheese Company (cheese)
Great Hill Dairy, Inc. (cheese)
Heini’s (yogurt cheese)
HP Hood (fluid milk only from plants #2303, #3308 and #5013)
Reed’s Ginger Ice Cream (ice cream)
Stonyfield Farm (yogurt and cheese)
Vermont Butter and Cheese Company (butter and cheese excluding mascarpone)
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Changing of the Guard: Meet Bob Hayes and Bruce Follett
After a long and distinguished career in the grocery business hallmarked by many years at the Co-op, Bob Hayes (right) retired near the end of 2008. Bob was the store manager of the Lebanon Co-op, which means every day he carried a huge amount of responsibility across his shoulders. In his work as Lebanon food store manager, Bob was known for being smart, matter-of-fact, and fair, and for displaying a bulldog demeanor that belied a gentle and soft-spoken temperament. His replacement, Bruce Follett (left), is another hard-working guy who has been at the Co-op for a long time too—carrying with him a set of highly efficient skills and a way with people that makes him a natural for the job. Bruce has spent the last several months learning the ropes from Bob, and the Co-op will spend the next several years realizing how lucky we have been to have them both here. Thank you, Bob, and congratulations, Bruce. No doubt the big job of Lebanon store manager is passing from one set of very capable hands to another.
