Deeply concerned about the Yoplait campaign

[RTZTAS]

I am writing today with deep concern over ZTA's involvement in Yoplait's "Save Lids to Save Lives" campaign. I am a supporter of ZTA adopting breast cancer awareness as a philanthropy. In fact I voted for this change at the 1992 convention in Atlanta. When the Race for the Cure began being planned in my community, I jumped on board and started serving as the ZTA liaison for several years. I've served at many breast cancer awareness events in my community.

However I am deeply concerned over ZTA's involvement with what I call a "Pink washer," Yoplait's lid campaign. General Mills, owners of the Yoplait label, use milk that comes from cows which have been given the synthetic hormone, rGBH. This hormone, developed by Monsanto, is genetically engineered and has been implicated in a number of health issues, including breast cancer. It has already been banned in Australia, Canada, Japan and all 27 countries in the European Union. Here in the US, many large corporations have committed to reducing or completely eliminating dairy products made with rBGH from their stores. Some examples are Ben & Jerry's, Starbucks, Kroger, Safeway, Publix and Wal-Mart. There is no reason why General Mills/Yoplait cannot make the same commitment.

I posted this information on the ZTA website because I felt it was important to make others aware of the food they are consuming and encouraging others to consume. My post was removed and my login cancelled for posting my opinion (which differed from National Council's position to support Yoplait regardless) because it was viewed as circularizing instead of making others aware of the important issues surrounding this campaign. Here are excerpts from the email I received from National President, Laura Ladewig Mauro:

"While the use of the hormone is controversial, no direct links between and cancer have been proven and the FDA contends that it is safe for consumers."
and
"We value our partnership with Yoplait and applaud their ongoing efforts to increase awareness and education about breast cancer and promote research for a cure."

So the FDA contends rBGH is safe for consumers. Let's take a closer look at that statement. rBGH was approved by the FDA on the basis of one study, which looked at the health impacts of rBGH on 30 rats over the course of 90 days. It was evaluated as an animal drug, which meant that the safety standards were significantly lower than they would have been had it been evaluated as a human drug. Since its approval in 1993, numerous studies have found connections between the use of rBGH and several diseases.

From Citizens for Health (www.citizens.org):
"The research shows that injecting rBGH stimulates the production of another hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which regulates cell growth, division, and differentiation. The research also indicates that these higher levels of IGF-1 make their way into the milk produced by those cows injected with rBGH. While IGF-1 is a naturally-occurring hormone in both cows and humans, studies have indicated that elevated levels of IGF-1 in humans may increase the risk of breast cancer. Increased levels of IGF-1 have also been associated with prostate, colon, and other cancers. Although the connection between rBGH and these cancers is not (yet) definitive, there is now more than sufficient evidence to take precautionary steps and to limit its use."

So I agree with our National President about applauding an ongoing effort to increase awareness about breast cancer, but I feel that awareness should not be one-sided. I am a ZTA and I take the position that Yoplait, while they may be raising lots of money for breast cancer organizations, they are touting a product which is questionable at best, and possibly causing breast cancer. I cannot in my good conscience stand for that.

I feel that each individual who wants to consume yogurt and wants to donate to a breast cancer cause, should choose whatever his/her favorite brand is and the make a separate donation to the charity of his/her choice. There is no reason we need to be hocking a product (any product for that matter) in the name of breast cancer program funding.

Here is some more information:

What is rBGH?

Think Before You Pink

Tell Yoplait to "Put a Lid on rBGH"

What is a "Pinkwasher"?

Where to find rGBH-free yogurt and other dairy in your area

Fraternally,
Katy Wentz Williams
katywms@gmail.com