FDA, protect milk from imposters, enforce labeling
For me, dairy farming is a family affair. I am a fourth-generation dairyman at Butler Oaks Farm, a dairy operation that’s been supplying Florida with nature’s perfect food for more than 80 years.
Growing up around the farm, my father and grandfather taught me the value of hard work and not cutting corners. I am proud of the nutritious product our cows provide to our community and country. My wife and I strive to impart the same ethics to our daughter — the next generation of the Butler family.
My father and grandfather’s integrity has become especially important as younger dairy farmers (and I still put myself in that category) contend with beverages made from nuts and grains that seek to imitate the image, but don’t offer the nutrition found in real milk. These milk knockoffs take advantage of milk’s wholesome reputation by using its name and imagery on their nutritionally inferior beverages. Government oversight is needed so that people are not misled by this unfair practice.
The Dairy Pride Act would change that. This bill, introduced in both the U.S. House and the Senate, would require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to enforce food-labeling laws to ensure that the proper use of dairy terms is policed by the FDA. I hope Florida’s elected officials will join my family and fellow dairymen in supporting this legislation.
It’s important to remember that this bill would not actually create a new regulation. Current law — which has been in place for decades — says any food item labeled “milk” (as well as similar foods like cheese, ice cream and yogurt) must come from an animal source. The problem is that the FDA does not typically enforce it. This has allowed any company to label its watered-down concoctions as “milk” when they clearly do not follow this explicit definition.
There’s a similar federal standard for Florida’s most recognized beverage — orange juice. A clever marketer looking to cut corners can’t combine sugar water, flavoring and coloring, and label it as orange juice.
These food standards exist to prevent inferior copycats from self-identifying as a more desirable product. There’s a reason the makers of beverages made of nuts, grains and seeds want to associate their products with the dairy category — our cows set the standard for providing a high-quality source of nine nutrients. These plantbased imitators are not adequate replacements for dairy milk. For example, almond “milk” involves mixing ground-up almonds with water, heaps of sugar and thickeners.
People are slowly returning to real, natural food. Perhaps the best part about cow’s milk is that it’s been real and natural all along. Eighty years of dairy farming can prove it.
By passing the DPA, the United States would be taking a cue from our international neighbors. Canada, the United Kingdom and nations of the European Union all actively enforce their own foodlabeling laws, resulting in a grocerystore shelf with plenty of almond “beverage” or “drink,” but never any “milk.”
That’s how it should be in the United States. Plant-based imitators can still exist in the marketplace; they just can’t ride in on milk’s healthy coattails.
We all want what’s best for our families — and dairy has been a consistent presence in mine. It’s natural, good for the body and good for the Florida community. Let’s uphold the integrity of milk, the cows that produce it, the farmers who harvest it, and food labeling overall by making sure everyone plays by the rules.