Eli Lilly is having a cow over an ad campaign run by a big cheese maker.
Here’s why: An international dairy called Arla is telling consumers that its cheeses are preferable because they do not use milk from cows that are given rBST, a hormone supplement made by a Lilly subsidiary. And the ads allegedly disparage the supplement by insisting Arla cheeses do not use “weird ingredients,” such as rBST, according to a lawsuit Lilly filed last week in federal court in Wisconsin.
“Arla’s assault on rBST’s safety is anything but subtle,” the lawsuit claimed. As an example, Lilly cited a 30-second cartoon television commercial in which rBST is depicted “as an enormous, six-eyed monster with razor-sharp horns and electrified fur.” At the end of the commercial, a young girl, who narrates the spot, is seen eating a cheese sandwich. The ad displays this message: “No added hormones. No weird stuff.”
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Cows treated with rBST also develop more mastitis than untreated cows requiring antibiotics, and perpetuating the problem of antibiotic resistance.
Udder disgrace.