Kleinpeter dairy in spotlight

• By TED GRIGGS
• Advocate business writer
• Published: Apr 9, 2008 - Page: 1D - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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An article in the May issue of Vanity Fair has generated some national publicity for Kleinpeter Farms Dairy and its president, Jeff Kleinpeter.

Kleinpeter said he has gotten around 10 e-mails from people all over the country complimenting him and the dairy for selling milk free of artificial bovine growth hormone, sometimes called rBGH or rBST, bovine somatotropin.

“I consider myself a small dairy farmer just doing my thing,” Kleinpeter said.

“I think it’s awesome that attention is being brought to Baton Rouge nationally and in a good way.”

Kleinpeter and the family dairy are mentioned in a long Vanity Fair piece titled “Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear.”

Part of the story describes how Kleinpeter Dairy began marketing its milk as rBGH-free in 2005 and that led to a dust-up with Monsanto.

Monsanto developed the supplement, which increases dairy cows’ milk production.

The agribusiness giant filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging the dairy’s rBGH-free milk labels amounted to deceptive and misleading advertising, according to Vanity Fair.

Monsanto said the rBGH-free campaigns by milk processors reflect badly on Monsanto’s product.

Monsanto spokeswoman Lori Hoag said she was not familiar with Kleinpeter Farms or its labels. However, labels that say milk is rBGH-free lead consumers to think that the milk is different from the milk from cows that receive rBGH, she said.

Several studies have shown that there is no difference in the milk from cows that receive the supplement and cows that do not, Hoag said. The federal Food and Drug Administration has affirmed those studies time and again.

Kleinpeter said the dairy’s labels were neither misleading nor deceptive. The dairy’s cows aren’t injected with rBGH, he said.

Kleinpeter said the FTC did not order him to change the dairy’s milk labels, but the agency did tell him he would have to pull some items posted on the dairy’s Web site in order to avoid a lawsuit.