Milk producers: Soy milk not ‘real’ milk

The National Milk Producers Federation is very protective about the use of the word “milk.” USA Today reports they’ve written the FDA for the second time in two years to insist that the term be used only to describe “mammalian lacteal secretions” — in other words, milk from cows, goats, sheep or water buffalo. The federation hopes to formally exclude

the label from its current use on soy, almond or any plant-based beverages. The federation wants to stop the FDA from “letting the bastardization of dairy terms proliferate,” according to spokesman Christopher Galen.

It’s yet to be determined whether the move is a reaction to the threat of soy’s increasing profits over the years. But if the FDA were to enforce the request, soy milk makers would have to resort to calling the liquid “imitation milk.” Not to mention the people who market hemp milk will have one more thing to worry about.