BILLINGS -- As August came to a close, chemical giant Monsanto sent ripples through the dairy industry, announcing that it was exiting the milk hormone business.

For years the bio-engineering firm had produced Prosilac, a growth hormone that when injected into the tails of dairy cows caused the animals to produce more milk. Monsanto's decision to sell off its Prosilac business was big news to food safety groups who since 1993 had had pressured milk producers to ban Prosilac, fearing it was harmful to humans.

One group, the Center for Food Safety, which has locked horns with Monsanto several times on genetically modified crops and animal hormones, said Monsanto was abandoning a "failing artificial growth hormone business."

But in the dairy sections of grocery stores across the country, the change was hardly noticed. Hormone-free milk, which a decade ago was a specialty item shoppers had to look for closely to find, now takes up most of the space in refrigerated milk cases.

In most Billings grocery stores, only one or two rows of milk cartons and jugs aren't labeled as free of rBST or rBGH, common growth hormones used in milk production. The first drive in Montana to get hormones out of milk was sparked by parents in Bozeman who convinced Bozeman Public Schools to seek hormone-free milk for the school lunch program.

Country Classics Dairies, a cooperative which sells milk under the Darigold and Country Classic names, began offering hormone free milk in half gallons in the late 1990s. Eventually the cooperative added the label to all their containers.

Livestock concerns

The cooperative produces roughly 200 million pounds of milk per year. Before consumers began objecting, most Country Classic farmers weren't keen on growth hormone because of the potential harm to their stock. The word among farmers was that growth hormone boosted milk production in the short term, but shortened the cow's productive life.

"When you're a small operation, your concern is your animals because that's your bread and butter," said Roger Boender, a Country Classics cooperative member in Worden. "You are not going to inject your herd with hormones. My personal opinion is, I don't like giving them anything that isn't natural. Most of the dairymen I know use that guideline. They're not going to risk their livelihood on a quick-buck deal."

Boender also used to sell milk to Meadow Gold, which has a Billings plant that also made the switch to hormone free. Not all of its products bear the hormone-free label in local grocery stores. Meadow Gold is owned by Dean Foods, the nation's largest milk bottler. Neither Dean Foods nor Meadow Gold in Billings responded to interview requests.

Hormone-free milk took over grocery store shelves without fanfare. Don Rickhoff, manager of Evergreen IGA, said that about three years ago hormone-free milk was a hot issue, but consumers seemed to have moved on to other concerns.

"There is a percentage of our clientele that do care, but it's a minority type thing," Rickhoff said. "Usually, those individuals are going to go after organic milk."

Debating health effects

There is reason to be concerned about growth hormones in milk, said Margaret Beeson, a naturopathic doctor with Yellowstone Naturopathic Clinic in Billings. Beeson cites a 1999 European food safety report that concludes that growth hormone in the food supply can lead to over production of other insulin growth hormones that stimulate growth and multiplication of cells in unhealthy ways. The heightened insulin hormone growth levels also hinder cells from dying at a normal rate, which can lead to cancer, Beeson said.

However, there are only suggestions that insulin growth hormone levels in humans might be elevated by milk from hormone-treated cattle. There are more than suggestions of harmful effects of rBGH with animals where studies have shown increased infertility and a 50 percent increase in lameness. The growth hormone has been banned in 31 other countries.

As a naturopathic doctor, Beeson advises people to choose organic milk, which is hormone free and antibiotic free.

Companies weigh in

Monsanto and proponents who see advantages to boosted milk production have argued there is no difference between milk from hormone-treated cows and untreated cows.

"Many states are either proposing, or moving toward, legislation against rBGH or rBST labeling," said Steve Merritt, a Montana Livestock Department spokesman. Monsanto's concerns have been taken very seriously.

Six states, the western-most being Utah, considered laws banning labeling, but ultimately sided with consumers who wanted the hormone status posted on milk.

In Montana, while hormone-free labels have stayed on milk jugs, they do bear an asterisk directing consumers to a footnote on the nutritional panel, which states that the USDA has determined no significant difference exists between hormone-free milk and milk from hormone-treated cows.

The debate over Prosilac isn't over. Drug manufacturer Eli Lilly bought Monsanto's Prosilac business for $300 million in late August, saying that increasing global demand for dairy products is outstripping supply and that Prosilac would allow it to offer more options to farmers.