Triple Mocha, Hold the Hormones

Triple Mocha, Hold the Hormones
Starbucks is making the move toward artificial-hormone free dairy after last month's "Hold the Hormones" campaign. While this is good news, the move has been pending for over five years and now consumers are demanding more.

Immediately after Food & Water Watch's nation-wide "Hold the Hormones" campaign culminated in a National Call-In last month, Starbucks announced an increase in rBGH-free dairy in several states, amounting to 37 percent of their total supply. Several news organizations recently reported that the coffee giant now has plans to go 100 percent hormone-free, an announcement that Food & Water Watch's Wenonah Hauter described as "encouraging" but said "we would like to see Starbucks commit to a timeline for completely switching over to hormone-free milk."

New York-based nonprofit Sustainable Table, which has been promoting the campaign by urging consumers to write, call, and leave letters at Starbucks, is now circulating an updated letter encouraging Starbucks to convert fully. The site also hosts an interactive map where consumers can find a state-by-state listing of rBGH-free dairy suppliers, as well as the Eat Well Guide, an online directory of small farms and other sustainable food outlets. The Meatrix II: Revolting, the second in the Meatrix series, centers on dairy production and hosts an action alert advising viewers to take part in the campaign.

RBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) is a genetically engineered artificial growth hormone created to increase milk production in dairy cows. It causes health complications in cows and there is concern about a possible link to cancer in humans.

Sustainable Table celebrates the sustainable food movement, educates consumers on industrial farming and food-related issues, and helps build community through sustainable food. The program includes the Eat Well Guide, an online directory of sustainbly-raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs in the United States and Canada, and the Meatrix film series. Sustainable Table and Free Range Studios produced the Meatrix II. The original Meatrix has been viewed by over 15 million people around the world and translated into 30 languages.

Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer rights organization, based in Washington, D.C., that challenges the corporate control and abuse of our food supply and water resources. Visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org or www.holdthehormones.org for more on why Starbucks should go hormone-free.

To learn more, go to:
Sustainable Table: www.sustainabletable.org
Eat Well Guide: www.eatwellguide.org
The Meatrix II: www.themeatrix2.com