A war is brewing in the dairy aisle, and it all comes down to one existential question—what is milk?
For 40 years, Americans have been drinking less of the traditional stuff—37% less since 1975, according to the most recent USDA figures. Meanwhile, the $2 billion U.S. non-dairy alternative industry (think almond milk and the like) has experienced explosive growth, and is set to expand another 50% between 2015 and 2020, according to industry tracker Mintel.
In January, the first shots were fired when Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, with the backing of the dairy industry, introduced the “Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese To Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act.” The Dairy Pride Act, as its known, is meant to compel the Food and Drug Administration to not only enforce the the legal definition of milk and cream as the “lacteal secretion” obtained by the “milking of one or more healthy cows,” but also expand it to include all “hooved mammals.”
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