Decaf, No Whip, No Bovine Somatotropin

We're not one of those people who hate "chemicals." Mmm, Diet Dr Pepper.

But a few months ago we started to avoid buying milk that contained bovine growth hormone. Are we convinced it's bad for us? No, but we're convinced it's not explicitly good for us, either, since it exists to make life easier for dairy farmers. It's easy enough to avoid, and having a real live growing kid in the house makes us more skeptical and more inclined to do that avoiding.

And it's about to get even easier: Starbucks announced recently that they're going rbST-free:

Last month, the company committed to making 100 percent of the milk supply for its more than 5,600 American locations free of the synthetic bovine growth hormone -- officially known as recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) -- by the end of the year.

The announcement came in a letter to Food and Water Watch:

we are moving forward to convert all of our core dairy products used in U.S. stores – fluid milk, half and half, whipping cream and eggnog – to dairy produced without the use of rBGH. We are pleased to report that as of August, 72% of our total dairy supply is sourced from suppliers that do not use rBGH. Most recently the supplies in Southern California and areas of Florida, Utah and upstate New York have been converted.

Further, we have committed that by December 31, 2007, all of our fluid milk, half and half, whipping cream and eggnog used in U.S. company-operated stores will be produced without the use of rBGH.

And you know who else is just saying no to bovine somatotropin? The Kroger Company. While all Kroger stores nationwide will be rbSG-free by the end of February '08, local Kroger supermarkets Fred Meyer and QFC are already going without the hormone:

Earlier this year, Kroger transitioned the milk it sells in the western half of the U.S. to a certified rBST-free supply. This move includes milk it processes and sells in its City Market, Dillons, Fry’s, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith’s divisions and Kroger stores in Louisiana and Texas.

We do indeed got milk in the Seattlest household, so we're glad to see it's getting easier to avoid the milk we'd rather not drink.

(Hat tip: Consumerist.)