Is almond milk damaging the dairy industry?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just released draft guidelines concerning the definition of “milk,” saying that producers of alternative milk beverages derived from plants and nuts (non-mammals) can keep calling their products “milk” because, basically, they’ve been doing it for a while and the public likes it that way.

The draft guidance explains “that the public already refers to plant-based milk as milk while also acknowledging the plant source it comes from, such as ‘almond milk’ and ‘soy milk,’” according to Fox Business. “Consumers reportedly favor the term ‘milk’ over plant-based ‘drink,’ ‘beverage’ or ‘juice,’ according to internal and third-party focus groups the FDA cited.”

Not everyone agrees with the FDA. I worked on a dairy farm several summers ago, and the farmers told me the advent of alternative beverages masquerading as milk did a lot of damage to their industry. They also told me the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which only allows watery skim and 1 percent milk to be served in schools, has taken a toll.

It makes sense that alternative milk producers and consumers prefer the term “milk” over “drink” or “beverage,” because “milk” connotes nutrition — a level of nutrition that helps to nurture a ninety-pound newborn calf into a 1,300-pound cow. Congressman Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania (my representative) is chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. He told me he’s “completely disappointed” with the FDA for misleading consumers.

“This is impacting our number one commodity in Pennsylvania and a very important agriculture commodity nationwide,” Thompson said. “I’m not surprised, I guess. This is an administration that doesn’t know how to define what a woman is, and they don’t know how to define what true milk is.”

“Very clearly, several years ago, the FDA recognized consumers were being misled,” Thompson continued, “because if you agree that milk must come from a mammal, these alternative beverages were using the term ‘milk’ and therefore misleading consumers. The FDA seemed to indicate when they did a request for comments that the word ‘milk’ really communicates a higher expectation of nutritional value. And they identified concerns. But now they’ve come out and said the alternative beverages can use the term milk.”

The FDA’s Code of Federal Regulations defines milk this way: “Milk means the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows, which may be clarified and may be adjusted by separating part of the fat therefrom; concentrated milk, reconstituted milk, and dry whole milk. Water, in a sufficient quantity to reconstitute concentrated and dry forms, may be added.”

The FDA’s new guidelines recommend “the use of voluntary nutrient statements… [to] provide consumers with additional nutrition information to help them understand certain nutritional differences between these products and milk and make informed dietary choices.” The FDA provides a sample label for alternative milk producers to consider using: “Contains lower amounts of Vitamin D and calcium than milk.”

Labeling, Thompson notes, is a Committee on Energy and Commerce concern and cites as a champion there fellow Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Dr. John Joyce. The bipartisan Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, milk, and cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act — the DAIRY PRIDE Act — has been reintroduced to “combat the unfair practice of mislabeling non-dairy products using dairy names.” The bill would “require non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants, and algae to no longer be mislabeled with dairy terms such as milk, yogurt or cheese.”

Thompson has also sponsored the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act and counts as supporters 97 Milk, an advocacy group that promotes whole milk as 97 percent fat free.

Thompson reiterated that he has nothing against almond farmers, soy bean producers, and the like. He says there are legitimate reasons to use alternatives to milk. He notes, however, that alternative milks often contain a lot of additives to make them palatable.

“I just want truth in advertising,” Thompson said. “Real milk has been demonized so much, and inappropriately — based on political science, not real science.”

Thompson calls American farmers “climate heroes.” According to 97 milk, “The dairy sector, alone, has reduced its carbon footprint by two-thirds between 1945 and today.”

The FDA draft has not been finalized. Thompson hopes to bring the FDA in front of the Ag Committee.

“Ultimately I’d like them to recognize that unless it’s produced from an animal, it’s not eligible to be called milk,” he said.