Kansas Governor and HHS Secretary-to-be Kathleen Sebelius faces rbGH issues everywhere she turns. In her home state of Kansas, a coalition including farmers, environmental groups, and others is asking her to veto a bill about rbGH-free labeling:
The measure requires dairy products claiming to be from cows that don't receive injections of artificial bovine growth hormone to include a disclaimer on their labels.
The qualifier must state that the Food and Drug Administration has found no significant differences between milk from cows supplemented by the hormone, commonly known as rbST or rBGH, and milk from cows that are not.
But Sebelius is headed to the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA. And the FDA legalized rbGH back in 1993. A lot of new science has come out about the hormone in the last decade and a half, and Sebelius might have to revisit the issue once she gets to DC. Will her decision on signing or vetoing the bill be a hint about how she'll act at HHS? |
