November 19, 2007
Dear PASA Members,
The time has come to take action on the milk labeling debacle
in Pennsylvania! We had planned to ask you in the week after Thanksgiving.
But the time has come a bit sooner when we need an urgent flood
of messages to let our leaders in Harrisburg know what you think.
Please take a few moments before the holiday, or perhaps just
after, to write to Governor Rendell and let him know what you
think of PDA’s move to restrict product labeling claims
involving artificial hormones and other substances many of us
do not want used in the production of our food.
We are asking you, if at all possible, to write
a REAL letter (it’ll get more attention)
to the governor at the following address:
Governor Edward G. Rendell
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17102
If time is short, you may use this email address and follow the
instructions as prompted:
http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Governor/govmail.html
Or, just call his office at (717) 787-2500 right now and make
your feelings known to whomever answers.
Sending copies of any correspondence with the governor to your
local legislators would make sense as well. We’re also asking
that you consider writing letters to the editors of your local
papers or of the ag press (Lancaster Farming, The Farmer’s
Friend, Farm & Dairy, etc…) to let people know your
thoughts about this issue. It’s important that PASA members
be heard at this critical time!
Perhaps no single issue in Pennsylvania agriculture during this
first decade of the new century has run so contrary to the goals
of sustainability. Sure, labels can be misleading, and we do need
state leadership in deciding how they can be consistently and
fairly applied. But it is simply outrageous to think that keeping
consumers in the dark on important matters involving their food
is the better way to go.
As always, it’s important that you individually express
your opinions in ways that demonstrate the diversity and thoughtfulness
of the PASA membership. But for those who want some help in formulating
those thoughts, I offer the following considerations:
Animal Welfare
– Cows treated with rBST have higher rates of mastitis
and shorter lives in general.
Human Health
– The science is inconclusive as to whether or not there
are long-term negative effects on humans who consume milk from
rBST-treated cows.
Freedom of Speech
– Farmers need the ability to use truthful claims on labels
that help them communicate with their customers and make a good
living.
Consumer Information
– It’s not irrelevant at all for consumers to know
who uses artificial hormones and who doesn’t.
Ethical Consistency
– Why are performance enhancing drugs banned in other
aspects of our daily lives, but not in food production?
There are many other points that could be made, and I look forward
to seeing what many of you come up with. But the important thing
is that you make your voices heard right now!
Please send this action alert to your friends, neighbors, customers
and any other group in Pennsylvania you can think of who might
care about this issue. I’m also sharing with you an op-ed
written by me that was published in today’s (11/20/07) Centre
Daily Times –
it is attached. Please feel free to distribute this as you
wish, possibly even to your local papers.
Let’s enjoy this week of Thanksgiving knowing full well
that food is one of our most precious resources, and that we are
united in defending the integrity of how it is produced and marketed
to the public.
Yours sincerely,
Brian Snyder, Executive Director
Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA)
