BILL: Should We Protect Milk From Plant-Based Alternatives? - The Dairy Pride Act - S.549

 The Bill

The DAIRY PRIDE Act

Bill Status

• Sponsored by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) on Feb. 28, 2023
• Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
• House and Senate: Not yet voted
• President: Not yet signed

Bill Overview

• The bill, officially titled "Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese To Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act," intends to ensure that no plant-based foods are sold under the designation of "milk" because they don't meet the definition or criterion set forth for dairy products.
• The DAIRY PRIDE Act would require the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to take action against manufacturers labeling dairy imitators as milk.

What's in the Bill?

Promotes dairy as key to a healthy diet

• Reinforces the stance of the Dietary Guidelines of America, which states that dairy products are an important part of a healthy diet for both children and adults.
• Congress finds that approximately 90% of the population of the U.S. does not meet the daily dairy intake recommendation.
• Purports that consuming dairy foods provides numerous health benefits, including lowering the risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Dairy is rich in vitamins like vitamin D, potassium, and calcium.

Claims that plant "milks" do not meet the nutritional profile of dairy milk

• The bill finds that plant milk has less protein and naturally occurring calcium and vitamin D.
• It states that plant-based milk's portion size and calorie load must exceed that of dairy milk to offer the same nutrition.
• Purports that imitation dairy products, such as plant-based products derived from rice, nuts, hemp, coconut, and oat, have inadequate nutritional profiles. 

Suggests that plant-based products labeled as milk mislead consumers

• The FDA defines milk as the "lacteal secretion obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows" and is, therefore, a misnomer when applied to plant-based products.
• The DAIRY Pride Act requires the FDA to "fulfill its responsibilities" to educate consumers about nutrition and reduce ambiguities.
• Enables products that violate the requirements to be deemed "misbranded" under federal law, and violators could be subject to punishment.

Challenges the FDA's new labeling guidance

• Invalidates the FDA's recent guidance that allows plant-based products to market themselves as milk. In the motion, the FDA permitted producers to qualify the word milk by including the actual ingredient in the label, i.e., almond milk, oat milk, or coconut milk.

What Supporters are Saying

• Sponsor Sen. Baldwin said:

"The Biden Administration's guidance that allows non-dairy products to use dairy names is just wrong, and I'm proud to take a stand for Wisconsin farmers and the quality products they make. Our bipartisan DAIRY Pride Act will protect our dairy farmers and ensure consumers know the nutritional value of what they are purchasing."

• Co-sponsor Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said that imitation products "have gotten away with using dairy's good name without meeting those standards."
• Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said:

"Milk comes from a cow—not an almond or coconut or any other fruit or vegetable."

What Opponents are Saying

• The newly formed lobby, the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), argues that the bill would necessitate a massive packaging revamp and rebranding, which could bankrupt businesses or dissuade startups.
• The PBFA said that if it does pass, it could be challenged on constitutional First Amendment grounds as restricting plant-based companies' freedom of speech.
• Good Karma Foods CEO Doug Radi said:

"[B]ut the reality is the consumer has been voting for the better part of two or three decades, increasingly toward plant-based milks."

• Cow's milk has significant climate impacts. It creates three times as many greenhouse gas emissions and uses ten times as much land as plant-based alternatives.

Do you support protecting the dairy industry?

—Emma Kansiz