Is the Trump administration synonymous with onerous business regulations? Apparently so if you’re a company that makes plant-based milks.
The Food and Drug Administration just announced that it plans to start cracking down on manufacturers of plant-based milks for using dairy-related terms on labels. What this would mean in practice is that soy milk could not legally be called soy milk (likewise for almond, coconut, rice, hemp, macadamia, and so on).
If censoring phrases like “soy milk” and “coconut milk” sounds bizarre, it’s because these are the very names by which we all recognize these products. And they’re hardly unusual concepts or novel linguistic creations. Humans have consumed plant-based milks for centuries and across cultures. In the U.S., “soy milk” has been in commercial use since the 1940s and even appears in USDA materials dating back to the early 1960s.
The FDA’s decision to start enforcing the term “milk” as something that comes from a cow (never mind all the other mammals that produce milk) ostensibly aims to protect consumers from shady dairy imitators, but of course that’s not the real purpose. The dairy industry is sick of watching sales fall while competing plant-based products become more and more popular, and groups such as the National Milk Producers Federation are pushing the government to intercede on their behalf.
[More: PETA wants plant-based drinks to ditch ‘four-letter-word’ milk]
This anti-competitive move could prove staggeringly sweeping in scope: Market something as almond milk or coconut cream and you’ll quickly run afoul of government regulators. The dairy industry certainly stands to profit from this kind of handout and blatant attempt to suppress plant-based competition. But consumers? Not so much.
Consumers deeply value variety and Americans are increasingly choosing non-dairy alternatives for a host of reasons. For some, it’s a simple matter of taste. Others are lactose intolerant or have dairy sensitivities. Still others dislike the massive environmental footprint of conventional animal agriculture or wish to reduce animal products from their diets due to ethical concerns. Some people seek out plant-based milks to avoid cholesterol and saturated fat.
One thing is clear: Consumers are making informed decisions based on their preferences and aren’t confused. A 2006 survey asked more than 800 adults what soy milk is made out of, and exactly one person answered cow’s milk. People know what they’re getting and have every right to continue knowing.
Policing the burgeoning plant-based industry and forcing companies to label their products with vague terms like “coconut liquid,” “almond juice,” and “soy beverage” smacks of undue political interference. One wonders if the administration plans to go after “cream of wheat” and “milk of magnesia” next.
The FDA’s recent announcement is a solution in search of a problem, except the so-called solution in this case violates the Constitution by censoring commercial speech, puts the federal government in the untenable role of picking winners and losers in the marketplace, and ultimately exacerbates the problem it claims to ameliorate.
The FDA has a lot on its plate. Instead of spending time, energy, and resources going after plant-based companies, the agency should focus on solutions that actually benefit the public.
Joanna Grossman, Ph.D., is a Washington, D.C.-based government affairs professional who specializes in animal protection, agriculture, and wildlife issues.
