Not in my body: rBGH and the rise of organic milk

The advent of rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) has spurred the establishment of an organic milk industry. The food systems/commodity chain analytical framework cannot fully explain the rise of this new food. An adequate understanding of the consumer’s role in the food system/commodity chain requires more attention to consumption as a form of politics. One way to do this is to look at the politics of other new social movements, especially those contesting mainstream notions of risk. From this approach, organic milk consumption challenges rBGH from a “Not-in-my-Body” or “NIMB” politics of refusal, similar to the political refusal of neighborhood residents in “Not-in-My-Backyard” or “NIMBY” environmental movements. The NIMB form of politics is not a social movement of politically conscious consumers, yet it is still a political activity in which consumers participate in the formation of the industry through a process of “reflexive consumption.” An analysis of producer-consumer discourse on milk cartons reveals the nature of this political formation.