I did some sleuthing

So, I was eating some Dannon yogurt.  Being the compulsive reader that I am, I was looking at the information on the container, and noticed that it didn't say rBGH or rBST free (I think those are the same thing - growth hormones.)  So I decided to call Dannon and ask if their yogurt was rBST free.  They said that as of this year, all their products ARE growth hormone-free.  Then I asked if there were GM ingredients in their products.  They said there could be.  I asked them to note that I didn't want GM ingredients (they called them biologically enhanced or something like that that started with bio-), and that if they did use them that they should label it so.

Then I was feeding Baby her Similac Advance and didn't see anything about rBST free on that label either.  So I decided to call and ask the same things.  They said they could have rBST, could have GM ingredients, and that while most of their formula containers (all the powder 12.9 oz and larger for sure) are BPA free, some are not, but they should all be by 2011 (I can't remember if it was the beginning or the end of 2011).  They said they do offer a Similac Organic that would be rBST, GM, pesticide, etc. free.  They said it is 98% organic, so they can call it organic.  I asked about the other 2%, and they said that that consisted of some of the fortifying ingredients (probably the vitamins and stuff) that were not available as organic.

I also called the company that makes Soothie Pacifiers, and they said that they were high-grade medical silicone, and therefore BPA-free.  When I asked what silicone IS exactly (animal, vegetable or mineral?) they weren't sure so they Googled it and came up with the answer that it was an element.  I haven't researched further yet.

All three companies were very nice and helpful.  They said they would pass on my concerns.  I think that obviously some concerns were being addressed (like the BPA in the Similac), others (most notably the GM) had not been brought up by enough people.  It took both Dannon and Similac a while to find the answer to my question about whether their products contained genetically modified ingredients, and at Similac they said they didn't really get that many people asking about that.

One other thing I mentioned to one of the companies (can't remember if it was Dannon or Similac) was that if they were GM and growth hormone free, they could label their product as such and people would see that and be more likely to pick their company's product over competitors. 

I was a little nervous about calling because I am always scared of sounding like a fool, but what I realized after the first phone call is that these companies LOVE to get feedback (obviously as long as I was not yelling at them or some such thing.)  So, my thought is that if everyone would take the time to call the different companies that they patronize and ask about things like BPA, growth hormones, Genetic Engineering, pthalates, etc. it would eventually make a difference.  If you want to get some ideas about different bad chemicals that are out there and where they may be a great book to check out would be Slow Death by Rubber Duck by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie.  A good synopsis of it is found on Lady Susan's blog.