Big Dairy wants the term “milk” reserved for the white liquid cows squirt, so they’re pressuring Congress and the FDA to prohibit plant-based alternatives from using that term on their products (see story here).
The gist of the story is, doesn’t the FDA have better things to do? (Spoiler alert: Yes, it does.) The reality: Political pressure determines government priorities.
Here’s what’s behind this tempest in a coffee cup (or cereal bowl): “Cow milk consumption has been declining for decades,” while plant-based alternatives have grown in popularity.
But that can’t account for Big Dairy’s woes, because the “increase in sales … of plant-based options is [only] one-fifth the size of the decrease in Americans’ purchases of cow’s milk.” So is Big Dairy’s hoarding of the “milk” term just jealousy?
In any case, Americans hate milk, and a federal regulation won’t change that.