Idaho Senators Take On Almond Milk

We've see the commercials since childhood and heard all of the stories about how important milk is for us. While now, the benefits of milk consumption are highly debated, it is instilled in us from a young age that milk builds strong bones! Now, it's milk taking center stage when it comes to the agendas of United States Senators Jim Risch, Mike Crapo and United States Representative Mike Simpson.

Being dubbed the "Milk Pride Act", two legislators from the State of Idaho are spearheading an effort to no longer allow things like "Almond Milk" or "Oat Milk" to use the word: MILK. According to their efforts, dairy farmers all across the country work to meet dairy standards for "Milk" and having non-diary products use the term only confuses consumers and hurts the dairy industry.

As stated in the press release from the office of United States Senator Jim Risch:

 Current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations define dairy products as being from dairy animals. Although existing federal regulations are clear, the FDA has not enforced these labeling regulations and the mislabeling of plant-based imitation dairy products as ‘milk’, ‘yogurt’ and ‘cheese’ has increased rapidly. This hurts dairy farmers that work tirelessly to ensure their products meet FDA standards and provide the public with nutritious food. It has also led to the proliferation of mislabeled alternative products that contain a range of ingredients and nutrients that are often not equivalent to the nutrition content of dairy products.

You can read the entire statement from this bipartisan effort, HERE.