Crying Over Soymilk

The dairy industry wants only milk from animals to be labeled as milk. It wants all plant-based milks -- soy, rice, almond, hemp -- to be called something else.

If this sounds familiar, it's because the industry tried this 10 years ago.

"Soy-based beverages are attempting to directly compete with dairy products and are inappropriately taking advantage of the familiarity and positive image of dairy terminology in their labeling," said Rob Byrne, the milk federation's vice president of regulatory affairs. "We don't want them using milk's good name for their product."

Byrne said this in 2000, but if milk actually had such a good name, people wouldn't have been seeking out alternatives to cow's milk.

The FDA never responded to the request.

So now the National Milk Producers Federation is trying again. And they're using social media to help the effort. The group has launched a Facebook page called "They Don't Got Milk."

I don't know about that, but I do know that plant-based milk doesn't contain pus, blood, antibiotics, bovine growth hormone or cholesterol.

The dairy industry feels threatened and rightly so.

With an increase in those who perceive plant-derived products as healthier and a growing Asian population accustomed to soymilk, the market for non-dairy "milk" products as well as non-dairy cheeses, yogurts and ice creams also is on the increase.

I started drinking soymilk years before I went vegetarian. I lived alone, and my cow's milk got old before I had time to consume it all. So I switched to soy, which stays good a lot longer.

If you're still consuming milk from an animal, ask yourself this: Would you drink the breast milk from a stranger? Then why drink it from a cow? Cow's milk is for calves.

(Image courtesy of Viva.)