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Karen A. Ballard, MA, RN, Chair of the Nurses Work Group at Health Care Without Harm, wrote in a Jan. 17, 2008 letter to Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio:

“Just as a patient expects to be informed of the risks and/or benefits of a medication or treatment, a consumer should be made aware of the contents of food or food products, including residual amounts of antibiotics, hormones, or other drugs that may constitute a potential risk for harm to human health…

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is currently considering the issue of banning rBGH-free labeling (recombinant bovine growth hormone-free)…

The Nurses Work Group asserts that the public have a right-to-know exactly what they are purchasing and to individually examine the health issues surrounding any substance used in the production of the product.

Citizens and consumers have a right to know what is or is not in the foods that we purchase. The Nurses Work Group of Health Care Without Harm urges you to support food labels that include a complete list of the substances used to produce that food whether the language used to convey the information is rBGH-free or contains rBGH.”

Jan. 17, 2008