Summary: What would you do if you found out that a drug you were using was causing harm to your animals and was also toxic to humans? Would you still continue to use it knowing that ethically it is wrong to profit from the pain and suffering of others? This was just the case with John Kinsman, when he blew the whistle on Monsanto’s prized drug, (trade name) Posilac, which was being sold to dairy farmers. It is more commonly known as the Bovine Growth Hormone or rBGH. John Kinsman is President of the Family Farm Defenders (FFD). John is also a life-long dairy farmer from Lime Ridge, Wisconsin. On his farm he raises 36 cows on his 150-acre farm. 80 of those acres are devoted to hay and pasture. The other 70 acres are devoted to woodland management. John is clearly a man who leads by example. Through the FFD, John works to forge new consumer-farmer direct marketing strategies for dairy products. His organization is now marketing Cedar Grove cheese, which carries a label that clearly identifies that the cheese is produced by family farmers and is free of genetically engineered products. John also advocated for efforts to ban use of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) and educated farmers and consumers about its negative effects. As a result of his efforts, the Food and Drug Administration forestalled the rBGH approval for seven years and bovine growth hormone is now struggling in the marketplace. He has traveled around the world to talk with farmers about the potential dangers of genetic engineering in agriculture and the need to change US dairy policy. Today on The Organic View Radio Show, I am going to interview Mr. Kinsman, who is one of the most outspoken dairy farmers in the USA. He will talk about his experience with Monsanto and his work trying to help dairy farmers of America. Stay tuned!
