Not too long ago, the big choice on the milk aisle was between whole or skim. Today’s milk options seem endless: almond, cashew, coconut, flax, oat, rice, soy. . . But do nut and grain extracts count as milk? In the war of words, some folks are having a cow.
Squabbles over food names aren’t new. Take the butter-margarine war. In the 1800s, Wisconsin Representative William Price dubbed hardened vegetable oil “counterfeit butter.” At one time, there was even a tax on margarine dyed to look like butter—since the vegetable spread was naturally white.
Some states prohibited the sale of yellow margarine. They thought people should be able to tell the difference between the two products. A vintage ad declares Parkay margarine “Golden Yellow and ready to spread!”—with an asterisk noting, “in 26 states.”
To get around state bans, margarine makers provided yellow capsules of food coloring so people could dye the margarine themselves.
The margarine-butter battle seems silly now. But naming food is serious business.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spells out what ingredients a product must have in order to be given a certain name. For example, ice cream must include dairy ingredients. (Check your favorite carton—it may be called “frozen dessert.”)
These federal “standards of identity” can trigger food fights. Non-wing-meat chicken “Wyngz” and eggless “mayo” spread have even started lawsuits.
According to milk’s standard of identity, milk is obtained by the “milking of one or more healthy cows.”
The dairy industry and lawmakers want the FDA to enforce these guidelines. They say nut and grain “milks” are posing as the real deal and confusing the meaning of milk.
“Mammals produce milk; plants don’t,” says Jim Mulhern, president of the National Milk Producers Federation. The federation says lack of enforcement spreads fake products and taints dairy terms.
The European Union already has restrictions on the term milk. Plant-based liquids are called “drinks” or “alternatives to milk.”
The Plant Based Foods Association says standards of identity were created to prevent companies from using inferior ingredients. But the group says that’s not what almond-rice-soy milk makers are doing. In fact, they believe plant-based products are superior.
Animal rights advocates also support plant-based alternatives. They question whether the standards of identity remain relevant.
But groups such as the dairy federation say federal standards of identity ensure people get what they expect from products, especially ones labeled “milk.”
The best advice for smart consumers? Read labels on any food you eat—or in the case of milks, drink.
