On Feb. 4 the moratorium on the sale of synthetic bovine growth hormone (bGH or bST) will be lifted, allowing dairy farmers to inject it into their cows to increase commercial milk production. "Consumers will have no way of knowing if bGH was used to produce the milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and other dairy products they are eating because the FDA does not require labeling," says Gail Feenstra, nutritionist and food systems analyst for the UC Davis-based UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. "All of the surveys related to this subject show that more than 75 percent of consumers are consistent in their desire to see milk labeled." Feenstra also believes that consumers will not benefit from reduced milk prices, but will be asked to take any unknown health risks associated with the use of synthetic bGH. Dairy herds injected with bGH may experience up to a 50 percent increase in the rate of mastitis, an udder infection, which results in greater use of antibiotics and an increased risk of antibiotic residues in the milk supply, Feenstra says. She is co-author of "The Dairy Debate: Consequences of Bovine Growth Hormone and Rotational Grazing Technologies," recently published by UC SAREP.