This study was funded by Monsanto. The samples were collected by Monsanto staff, and some of the analysis was conducted by Monsanto, rather than independent labs. It was written primarily by Monsanto employees and others with financial ties to Monsanto, including Terry Etherton, who has been funded by Monsanto. The study did not indicate which specific brands/dairies were tested, which is an important point because — due to the ability of some unscrupulous corporations to exploit loopholes in organic standards — not all USDA-certified organic milk is of the same integrity. (More information on the variable integrity of different organic brands of milk can be found at the Cornucopia Institute website). Lastly, at the time of this study, Monsanto still owned Eli Lilly’s recombinant bovine growth hormone rBGH, which some might see as a major conflict of interest in this particular study.

If Monsanto truly believes their products to be safe, then why do put so much money into pressuring/lobbying all the parties in this debate — from the USDA to our representatives on Capitol Hill — whatever it takes to prevent “rBGH-fre” labeling on milk, thereby preventing consumers from making their own decisions on whether or not they choose to drink milk with rBGH?

My opinion is that while the diet may influence those levels to some extent (and I am not sure whether it is a biologically meaningful extent or not), whether the milk is organic or produced with or without rBST in and of itself does not influence those things.

One of the difficult things to figure out from studies that make it into the news is whether the reported differences are due to whatever is claimed on the label or is just coincident with those claims.

IMHO, buying organic is more about supporting specific production practices and principles than about nutrition. I do have a personal bias that because food produced under an organic label often carries a higher price tag, it sometimes is given a bit more QC than generic and istherefor of higher quality. For instance, I buy Stoneyfield or Brown Cow yogurt almost exclusively, not because they are organic but because they are an entirely different class of yogurt. I believe they would be just as good if non-organic milk was used.

thanks.