CONSUMER WARNING IF YOU ARE AGAINST GENETICALLY ENGINEERED HORMONES, ANTIBIOTICS & PUS IN YOUR MILK & DAIRY PRODUCTS, *YOU BETTER ACT NOW!* HERE ARE SIX THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW *BEFORE* YOU BUY MILK & DIARY PRODUCTS IN ANY STORE. - GENETICALLY ENGINEERED HORMONES COULD BE IN YOUR MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS. All milk and dairy consumers beware: Starting on February 3, 1994, milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, yogurt, beef and infant formula sold and consumed throughout the United States will be laced with genetically engineered recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) - also known as "Bovine Somatotropin" or BST. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of rBGH in dairy cows without long-term testing on the hormone's health effects on consumers. The (FDA) has also refused to require labeling of milk and other dairy products derived from use of the genetically engineered hormone, even though more than 90% of consumers favor labeling of rBGH products so they can avoid buying them. - INCREASED ANIMAL CRUELTY. rBGH use will cause suffering to millions of animals: rBGH is like "crack" for cows. It "revs" their system and forces them to produce a lot more milk - but it also makes them sick. Even the FDA admits that cows injected with rBGH could suffer from increased udder infections (mastitis), severe reproductive problems, digestive disorders, food and leg ailments, and persistent sores and lacerations. - THOUSANDS OF FAMILY DAIRY FARMERS WILL LOSE THEIR FARMS. rBGH will bankrupt family farmers: The overproduction of milk by rBGH could force up to 30% of U.S. dairy farmers out of business within 36 months after rBGH is introduced into the market. For each family farmer driven out of business, 25 other dairy-related jobs could also be lost. - YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE AT RISK. rBGH milk can make you sick: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admits that the use of rBGH in cows may lead to increased amounts of pus and bacteria in milk. Equally disturbing, the powerful antibiotics and other drugs used to fight increased disease in rBGH-injected cows may lead to greater antibiotic and chemical contamination of milk and dangerous resistance to antibiotics in the human population. The FDA has released studies showing that milk from rBGH-treated cows could have more saturated fat and less protein than regular milk. Both the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and the Consumer's Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, have warned of the potential hazards to human health caused by consuming products derived from rBGH-treated cows. - MORE WATER & SOIL POLLUTION. rBGH will harm the environment: The use of rBGH leads to unsustainable farming practices. Studies indicate that widespread use of the hormone will result in increased soil contamination and groundwater pollution. - rBGH WILL COST THE TAXPAYER HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. rBGH use will increase the federal deficit: According to the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rBGH use will cost the taxpayer between $300 million and $500 million over the next six years in increased price supports for milk. This will include at least $65 million for fiscal year 1994, and another $116 million in 1995. WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY to Protect Yourself, Your Family and Friends From Hidden Hormones in Milk, Dairy and Beef Products. ASK supermarket managers and grocers to provide you with a written statement on whether or not their milk and dairy products are free of genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormones (rBGH). PATRONIZE only supermarkets, natural food stores, convenience stores and restaurants that offer products that are rBGH-free. BUY you milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, yogurt, infant formula and beef products from companies that have gone on record as rBGH-free. JOIN the Pure Food Campaign's rBGH Boycott. Help organize opposition to rBGH tainted foods that are being sold in supermarkets, restaurants and school cafeterias. MAKE a donation to your local Pure Food Campaign. Your funds will be used to alert other consumers to the dangers of genetically engineered hormones in their milk and dairy products. CALL the 13 companies listed below and tell them you will not purchase their milk, dairy or beef products until they can provide you with a *written assurance* that their products are and *will remain* free of genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). Borden's (1-614-225-4511) Land O'Lakes (1-800-328-4155) Nestle'/Carnation (1-800-637-8530) Dannon (1-800-321-2174) Yoplait (1-800-967-5248) Baskin-Robbins (1-800-331-0031) Haagen-Daz (1-800-767-0120) Kroger (1-513-762-4000) Safeway (1-510-891-3000) A & P (1-201-573-9700) McDonald's (1-708-575-6198) Pizza Hut (1-800-262-1744) Kraft/Phillip Morris (1-800-323-0768) BOYCOTT BGH To get involved in the rBGH Boycott in your local area, write or call: The Pure Food Campaign 1130 17th Street, N.W. Suite 300 Washington D.C. 20036 1-800-253-0681 or 202-775-1132 Please makes copies of this flyer and distribute them to your family, friends, and co-workers. The Pure Food Campaign is a project of the Foundation on Economic Trends.