Monsanto Co. wants to sell Posilac, its dairy hormone supplement business, and concentrate on its seed business. The company
is looking to divest both the product and manufacturing facilities amid concern about potential side effects of bovine growth hormones, which are given to about
17% of U.S. cows, according to a government survey cited in The New York Times.
Posilac enables dairy farmers to increase productivity by 10 pounds more milk per day and has been FDA approved since 1994. But there is growing concern that it could also increase the risk of
breast, colon and prostate cancers, as well as cause health problems for the dairy cows.
The concern has rubbed off on dairy producers
and retailers such as Dean Foods Co., Kroger Co. and Starbucks Corp., which are now opting out of purchasing milk with the hormone rbST, used in Prosilac.
- Maria Woehr
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