Milk Buyer Denounces VERNON ACHENBACH JR. Lancaster Farming Staff WALLINGTON, N.J. —The head of Farmland Dairies Inc. Monday denied having any con nection whatsoever with; Jeremy Rifldn, founder and leader of the anti-agricultural, anti biotechnology Foundation on Eco nomic Trends, even though a sub group has been publicizing Farm land Dairies as being part of a shared “movement” to ban bovine somatotropin. Additionally, Marc Goldman, president of Farmland Dairies, denounced Rifkin’s actions as hurting the dairy industry. Gold man said Rifkin should stop perpe tuating misunderstanding and fear among consumers about milk. In a Lancaster Farming article printed early this month, it was reported that Farmland Dairies Inc. had lent its name to Rifkin’s group in calling for a ban on BST. That report was very incorrect, said Marc Goldman, head of Farm land Dairies Inc., headquartered in Wallington, NJ. Goldman’s name and company were mentioned in the story about Atlantic Dairy Cooperative Inc.’s decision to, for now, place a ban on its members using injections of supplemental bovine somatotropin (BST), should it be approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Farmland became involved in the newspaper report about ADC because of the marketplace rela tionship between the two: ADC sells a large portion of its milk to Farmland competitor Johanna Farms. Actions That Hurt Johanna adopted a policy of not accepting any milk derived from cows treated with supplemental BST in order to remain competitive with Farmland; ADC has followed suit for now. in order to continue selling milk to Johanna. Goldman said this week that, while he has adopted the policy of not accepting milk derived from cows injected with supplemental BST. it is because of consumer fears and confusion about BST being fanned by Rifkin. Goldman said he is not against biotechnology, nor is he against the use of BST. He said he is con cerned that people keep drinking milk. “I did not allow my name to be used by Rifkin in any way, shape or form,” Goldman said Monday during a telephone interview. At the time, Goldman could not be reached for comment and, while his company’s position on BST was known, his association with Rifkin’s group was taken directly from anti-BST literature and prop osed advertising created by Pure Food Campaign, one of Rifkin’s groups. In its advertisement proposal. Pure Food Cam paign states, “The movement against BGH is grow ing fast: ... The following is only a partial list of companies that pledge never to use BGH products. Companies refusing to pledge are also listed. For a complete list, use the coupon.” Along with Farmland Dairies Inc., Pure Food Campaign literature also lists the names of SI other businesses that it claims “pledge” to be “BGH free.” Goldman said that neither he, nor his company is part of any “movement against BGH,” and that he never pledged any such thing to anyone. Further, Goldman said he has never talked to Rifkin, much less discussed his BST position with Rifkin. According to Goldman, Rifkin must have extracted and interpreted his company’s name and position from other newspaper articles reporting on Farmland Dairies Inc. current position which is against accepting milk from cows injected with BST. Goldman said his position reflects his desire to sell milk, not influence the use or approval of BST. Farmland Dairies inclusion in Rifkin’s list is sig- Ag-Chem Covers All Your Spraying Needs From Parts to Short Line Equipment lO'chem call for more information: UWMCMT CO. MIC. 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Goldman said that if and when con sumer fears and confusion can be put to rest about BST, that policy can disappear. “This guy (Rifkin) running around is not good for the (dairy) industry and I think it’s very unfortunate he’s doing what he’s doing, and I think he’s hurting the fanners. “Rifkin’s activities are doing a large disservice to the dairy industry and in particular to dairy farmers in creating consumer fears... and (therefore) hurt ing consumption of milk,’’ Goldman said. “I did not allow my name to be used by Rifkin in any way, shape or form and the decisions that we made were our own independent decisions, and we are in no way connected with, or intended to be sup portive of, Jeremy Rifkin’s group,” Goldman said. Goldman said that while he didn’t perform a con sumer poll or see a consumer poll on reaction to milk derived from cows injected with supplemental BST, it was apparent that, with fears being stirred by Rifkin’s groups and with the general public’s lack of education about biotechnology, it would be best for selling milk if he adopted his position. “Clearly, we saw that consumers were at best confused by the controversy over this, and we felt that, that confusion, on the part of the consumer, would be harmful to sales that they (consumers) would be concerned about the safety of the products and so we wanted to assure that our products would be free of milk from cows treated with BST.” He said his policy would stay in effect, “... basi cally until consumer concerhs and confusion are clarified.” In the meantime, Goldman said he wants the dairy industry to come together on this and all issues concerning the salability of milk, especially fluid milk. Currently, fluid milk sales bring the best return on investment for the farmer. However, less than half of all milk produced is used for drinking and that level has continued to drop. Tri-County Farm & Home Bloomsburg, PA 717-437-3440 Erb & Henry Equip. New Berlinville, PA 215-367-2169
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