UK to crack down on plant-based food and drink labels(unearthed.greenpeace.org)
unearthed.greenpeace.org
UK to crack down on plant-based food and drink labels
https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2023/05/20/plant-based-dairy-marketing-lobbying/
84 comments
The article outlines clearly that there is no change in the law, no proposed change in the law, no likely proposed change in the law. Current law is aligned to EU law and will remain so. The article is simply a report of a Dairy Industry lobbying group trying to influence the advice given to 'local food standards inspectors'.
Ish. It's talking about changing the guidance, how the law is interpreted by enforcement agencies. This is regularly handled in departments, not statute.
A change in guidance would lead to action, and probably an appeal. The following court action would set a precedent and become the accepted meaning of the existing law. Which would spur or stymie more enforcement.
A change in guidance would lead to action, and probably an appeal. The following court action would set a precedent and become the accepted meaning of the existing law. Which would spur or stymie more enforcement.
Yeah, to be frank - it's totally on brand for the stuff coming out of this government.
"The draft suggested plant-based products should even be prohibited from saying they are ‘not milk’ – or describing themselves as ‘alternatives’ to dairy products."
The UK speed running it's way to become the silliest little land.
Probably this will all get watered down during debate but the fact this and the recent traffic proposals are even being suggested shows the current regime is at a dead end and have nothing better to do unless they start moving to the political centre or god forbid do something popular like closing tax loopholes or legislating markets that are actually scamming consumers like supplements.
The UK speed running it's way to become the silliest little land.
Probably this will all get watered down during debate but the fact this and the recent traffic proposals are even being suggested shows the current regime is at a dead end and have nothing better to do unless they start moving to the political centre or god forbid do something popular like closing tax loopholes or legislating markets that are actually scamming consumers like supplements.
This is... not without precedent:
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/apr/04/eu-to-ban-non-m...
Hopefully these plans will meet a similar end.
Hopefully these plans will meet a similar end.
"Veggie discs" gave me a chuckle.
As a vegetarian I don't actually care for meat substitutes anyway, I call them veggie junk food since most of them contain dubious amounts of actual vegetables but I just don't see consumers being confused or hurt by calling veggie burgers, burgers.
Just pointless lobbying in a vein attempt to turn people away from switching from meat.
As a vegetarian I don't actually care for meat substitutes anyway, I call them veggie junk food since most of them contain dubious amounts of actual vegetables but I just don't see consumers being confused or hurt by calling veggie burgers, burgers.
Just pointless lobbying in a vein attempt to turn people away from switching from meat.
this is just dairy industry lobbying, there is no consumer benefit here.
How can you say there is no consumer benefit to having accurate labels?
Everybody already knows that nut milk is different to cow milk. Calling it nut juice isn't going to to change the contents of the bottle or who would buy it.
What would you predict are the amount of people total who bought almond milk instead of semi-skimmed?
What would you predict are the amount of people total who bought almond milk instead of semi-skimmed?
> What would you predict are the amount of people total who bought almond milk instead of semi-skimmed?
Likely a large amount of people about to or becoming obsessed with fitness, or vegan recipes. The problem here is that all those "milk alternatives" have absolutely nothing to do with milk whatsoever, they have different handling and nutritional value (or lack of it; to the detriment of innocent kids suffering their parents' obsession). For most people, using the word "milk" will pull all kinds of wrong associations from their minds' latent spaces, which they won't be able to evaluate and ignore.
Likely a large amount of people about to or becoming obsessed with fitness, or vegan recipes. The problem here is that all those "milk alternatives" have absolutely nothing to do with milk whatsoever, they have different handling and nutritional value (or lack of it; to the detriment of innocent kids suffering their parents' obsession). For most people, using the word "milk" will pull all kinds of wrong associations from their minds' latent spaces, which they won't be able to evaluate and ignore.
While I understand your point that nut milk chemically isn't at all related to animal milk, I don't think that's the association that comes to mind when using a product.
The association is in it's use. By calling nut or oat milk, 'milk', you're making it clear to the consumer what it should be / can be used for, which is a substitute for animal milk.
By removing the word milk, all you have achieved is confusing the consumer as to what it can be used for. Can I put it on cereal, is it safe to cook with, can it go in coffee, etc, etc.
There isn't a consumer alive who thinks almond milk came from an animal. This is obviously nothing more than industry lobbying gone wild.
By removing the word milk, all you have achieved is confusing the consumer as to what it can be used for. Can I put it on cereal, is it safe to cook with, can it go in coffee, etc, etc.
There isn't a consumer alive who thinks almond milk came from an animal. This is obviously nothing more than industry lobbying gone wild.
But that's my point. Those plant-based "milks" are not milk substitutes, except in few circumstances you mention. They won't work the same when used in cooking or baking. They don't have the same nutritional value, meaning that if you use them in place of real milks in a cereal for your kid, you may be starving them on nutrients without realizing it. Etc.
For use in coffee? It's already established you can put all kinds of whiteners in it, so no need to brand another one as "milk".
For use in coffee? It's already established you can put all kinds of whiteners in it, so no need to brand another one as "milk".
It does appear that theyre completely out of ideas and just milking (am I allowed to use that word, lobbyists?) their power to collect favors.
Starmer is a complete dead end though. Ever since he took over he's thoroughly destroyed the viability of the Labour party - possibly forever. The recent elections confirmed that.
So the Tories will probably still win, even though the majority will split themselves between a protest Lib dem vote, protest SNP vote or protest Labour vote.
Starmer is a complete dead end though. Ever since he took over he's thoroughly destroyed the viability of the Labour party - possibly forever. The recent elections confirmed that.
So the Tories will probably still win, even though the majority will split themselves between a protest Lib dem vote, protest SNP vote or protest Labour vote.
I'm not completely ready to rule out a Labour win next election but Starmer just isn't inspiring. And he's endlessly damaging his own reputation by cancelling a new pledge every week. How can anyone believe a word he says anymore.
Hell, he's been given a free pass by the media for the most part and he's still messing it up.
I can somewhat see the logic that it's easy for a product to have MILK in a large font then "not" in tiny font or similar.
What would be the motivation for a company to do this though? Trickery is not the way to win over new customers. The people buying these products want “not” milk. They’re specifically seeking out a product that isn’t milk. These companies have every reason to highlight the “not” rather than to hide it.
Traffic proposals?
Switching off red traffic lights in London at quiet times -
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/politics/22436995/daniel-korsk...
Banning under 25's from carrying passengers under 25 and banned from driving at night - https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-8588663/You...
Banning under 25's from carrying passengers under 25 and banned from driving at night - https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-8588663/You...
I don't disagree a staged license for first time drivers might not be a bad idea but the restrictions are too severe and i don't think age should play any factor, it's everyone or no one.
And if they're going to introduce restrictions of young drivers then at the same time there should be an introduction of mandatory retests at 50-60 years of age to prove road worthiness and update road knowledge.
And if they're going to introduce restrictions of young drivers then at the same time there should be an introduction of mandatory retests at 50-60 years of age to prove road worthiness and update road knowledge.
Absolutely, these restrictions are insane. I'm pretty "anti-car" but throwing random restrictions on under 25 year olds doesn't seem like a good solution to the problem.
The red traffic light proposal is absolutely insane.
Also thanks for posting the articles.
The red traffic light proposal is absolutely insane.
Also thanks for posting the articles.
No problem. I thought I was reading an onion article about the traffic lights.
Truly seems like they desperately don't want to enact any social or 'left' policies so they're willing to go balls to the walls with anything else they can think of.
Truly seems like they desperately don't want to enact any social or 'left' policies so they're willing to go balls to the walls with anything else they can think of.
Surely changing the naming makes this more confusing.
Describing something as vegan cheese or plant based cheese, you know exactly what it is, changing the name to something different entirely makes it much harder to know what it is.
This is really pretty stupid/crazy.
Describing something as vegan cheese or plant based cheese, you know exactly what it is, changing the name to something different entirely makes it much harder to know what it is.
This is really pretty stupid/crazy.
> you know exactly what it is
But you don't though, do you? "Vegan cheese" isn't cheese. Instead, it's a bunch of ingredients to make it feel and taste like cheese, but it's not cheese. Often it doesn't feel or taste like it, it barely comes close, and they can be worse for your health than cheese itself might be.
For milk alternatives, it's even worse. It's just a money printing machine. Much higher profit margins compared to milk for some lies and a vastly inferior taste and less nutrition.
Don't get me wrong, I've reduced my dairy intake considerably, so I'm all for dairy alternatives, but these companies are on the border of lying, and governments need to take action against them.
But you don't though, do you? "Vegan cheese" isn't cheese. Instead, it's a bunch of ingredients to make it feel and taste like cheese, but it's not cheese. Often it doesn't feel or taste like it, it barely comes close, and they can be worse for your health than cheese itself might be.
For milk alternatives, it's even worse. It's just a money printing machine. Much higher profit margins compared to milk for some lies and a vastly inferior taste and less nutrition.
Don't get me wrong, I've reduced my dairy intake considerably, so I'm all for dairy alternatives, but these companies are on the border of lying, and governments need to take action against them.
The use of "cheese" or "milk" is more about how you'd likely use the products than what they are made out of (with the exception of actual cheese and milk). I'd rather see "vegan cheese" on a product as that tells me what I want to know - it's vegan and it's intended as a cheese replacement (not that I'd pick vegan cheese over regular cheese, anyhow). Similarly with milk replacements - having "milk" on the label is a great indicator that it'll work in tea/coffee/cereal etc.
Edit: What I find disingenuous with UK food labels is the proliferation of "plant-based" on products that are typically plant-based anyway e.g. tortilla chips
Edit: What I find disingenuous with UK food labels is the proliferation of "plant-based" on products that are typically plant-based anyway e.g. tortilla chips
For "makes your coffee white" there is already the established product name "coffee whitener". What's wrong with using that one instead of mislabeling it as a dairy product?
Because it's not simply a coffee Whitener, it can be used for other things, it's also not labeled as a dairy product, it's labeled as a plant based milk alternative, which is pretty clear.
Well then, can I use it to make cheese? How is the fat content, can I skim it for cream, maybe make some butter? Can I make Sourmilk? Yoghurt? Can I at least foam it up for Cappucino?
For most of those things that aren't milk, the answer is "no". So they aren't milk alternatives, are they?
For most of those things that aren't milk, the answer is "no". So they aren't milk alternatives, are they?
The answer to some of those questions would also be "no" for particular types of milk (e.g. skimmed milk).
Honestly, if someone told me that they got confused between dairy milk and plant-based milk, I'd laugh at them. It's not likely to be a recurrent problem either, as surely you'd realise when you came to use it.
Honestly, if someone told me that they got confused between dairy milk and plant-based milk, I'd laugh at them. It's not likely to be a recurrent problem either, as surely you'd realise when you came to use it.
Here’s almond milk referenced in a recipe in 1410:
“For to make blomanger. Nym rys & lese hem & washe hem clene, & do þereto god almande mylke & seþ hem tyl þey al tobrest; & þan lat hem kele.”
People have used the word milk to refer to some plant products for too long for this to confuse people now.
“For to make blomanger. Nym rys & lese hem & washe hem clene, & do þereto god almande mylke & seþ hem tyl þey al tobrest; & þan lat hem kele.”
People have used the word milk to refer to some plant products for too long for this to confuse people now.
At least oat and almond milk are an old cultural thing in my country. Definitely not something made up by the "evil green" industry.
See also, coconut milk.
Wow.
What exactly is the problem here? If I want to know what is in it or how it is made, I can read the label.
Seeing that it is a 'plant based cheese' I can know exactly what it is, in terms of how I would use it, sure I might not know what it is made of, but isn't that true for most things people buy unless they do research / read the label?
Calling it any other name, just makes it confusing, it's clear you don't like these products, which is fine, so long as they are labeled correctly such as 'almond milk' or 'plant based cheese' you can avoid them and get on with your life.
For others that want this product, this labeling is helpful, what is the issue, apart from being being anti-plant based products having a hissy fit?7
There is no lying going on with the products, it's helping customers decide. If I turn vegan and I want to use something to replace cheese, what would I be looking for? Plant based cheese, is easy and simple, why are we making this an issue? Products have been named this way for a significant time.
What exactly is the problem here? If I want to know what is in it or how it is made, I can read the label.
Seeing that it is a 'plant based cheese' I can know exactly what it is, in terms of how I would use it, sure I might not know what it is made of, but isn't that true for most things people buy unless they do research / read the label?
Calling it any other name, just makes it confusing, it's clear you don't like these products, which is fine, so long as they are labeled correctly such as 'almond milk' or 'plant based cheese' you can avoid them and get on with your life.
For others that want this product, this labeling is helpful, what is the issue, apart from being being anti-plant based products having a hissy fit?7
There is no lying going on with the products, it's helping customers decide. If I turn vegan and I want to use something to replace cheese, what would I be looking for? Plant based cheese, is easy and simple, why are we making this an issue? Products have been named this way for a significant time.
Are you seriously going to claim that you know exactly what's in every cheese?
I was sold a sandwitch on a train recently as "cheese and pickle", and that's what it said. It tasted awful, and on closer inspection, "vegan cheese".
Should consumers really have to ask, "is this cheese sandwich actually cheese?"
Should consumers really have to ask, "is this cheese sandwich actually cheese?"
> Describing something as vegan cheese or plant based cheese, you know exactly what it is
No, you don't. One example is "pizza cheese". Before the big EU dairy-product-naming crackdown, there were brands of "pizza cheese" that were actually plant fat with aromatics and binder/emulsifier. In the cheese section, without any obvious labeling that "cheese" didn't really mean "cheese".
No, you don't. One example is "pizza cheese". Before the big EU dairy-product-naming crackdown, there were brands of "pizza cheese" that were actually plant fat with aromatics and binder/emulsifier. In the cheese section, without any obvious labeling that "cheese" didn't really mean "cheese".
I don't see how this is controversial.
Imagine Pepsi selling a drink called "not Coca Cola" or Google advertising "not ChatGPT" or "not Outlook". Literally the only purpose is customer confusion and piggy-backing on a successful brand to save on marketing.
In general I don't quite understand the "meat-envy" displayed by many vegans. As if there aren't tons of extremely delicious "vegan-original" foods (fried tofu, falafel, rice bowl with mushrooms & avocado, ...).
Imagine Pepsi selling a drink called "not Coca Cola" or Google advertising "not ChatGPT" or "not Outlook". Literally the only purpose is customer confusion and piggy-backing on a successful brand to save on marketing.
In general I don't quite understand the "meat-envy" displayed by many vegans. As if there aren't tons of extremely delicious "vegan-original" foods (fried tofu, falafel, rice bowl with mushrooms & avocado, ...).
This is a false-equivalence. "Milk" is not a trademarked brand name like "Coca Cola" or "ChatGPT", it's a category of food/drink. You can't trademark "milk" in the same way you can't trademark "sausages".
A better comparison would be "Not Cola", which AFAIK would be an acceptable name for a drink. See literally all smaller Cola brands which include the word "Cola" in their name.
A better comparison would be "Not Cola", which AFAIK would be an acceptable name for a drink. See literally all smaller Cola brands which include the word "Cola" in their name.
Well some people in the UK, and myself, disagree.
The purpose of a “brand” is to reduce confusion. So that customers know what they’re buying.
So I don’t want to buy “an artificially manufactured food in the category of milk”, I want to buy milk.
The purpose of a “brand” is to reduce confusion. So that customers know what they’re buying.
So I don’t want to buy “an artificially manufactured food in the category of milk”, I want to buy milk.
Wouldn’t the best way to fix this be to just require anyone selling cow’s milk to put ‘cow’s milk’ on the label?
Have you ever bought goats milk by mistake ?
Have you ever bought goats milk by mistake ?
A difference might be that your examples are all trademarked words. Milk isn't.
From a marketing perspective saying something is a "milk alternative" or whatever is mostly to market to non-vegans so that they know what to buy if they're looking to get into that area. [Shaky unverifiable source - I know somebody who develops these products for large companies]
From a marketing perspective saying something is a "milk alternative" or whatever is mostly to market to non-vegans so that they know what to buy if they're looking to get into that area. [Shaky unverifiable source - I know somebody who develops these products for large companies]
Trademarks protect the market position of one particular company. Similarly, protected origin designations and protected product names reserve words for any producer of "the original, proper" thing. Thereby protecting not only the producers' interests but also the consumer, because misleading labeling and advertising is prevented.
If you'd allow stuff like "milk alternative", you'd quickly get "<huge>MILK</huge><tiny color=unreadable>alternative</tiny>".
If you'd allow stuff like "milk alternative", you'd quickly get "<huge>MILK</huge><tiny color=unreadable>alternative</tiny>".
Perhaps the closest analogy is “method Champagnois” for sparkling white wine produced using champagne grape varieties and techniques, before the word champagne became protected, and “method Champagnois” thus became illegal.
Not making a judgement either way. Personally, I feel these alternatives work in the same place as milk (coffee, cereal, et cetera), but are nutritionally very different from milk so I can appreciate both sides of this argument.
Not making a judgement either way. Personally, I feel these alternatives work in the same place as milk (coffee, cereal, et cetera), but are nutritionally very different from milk so I can appreciate both sides of this argument.
So then prohibit misleading product packaging rather than prohibiting a specific phrase.
Misleading packaging has forbidden for ages. Didn't really work out since companies will always try to game the system, binding up resources in endless court battles around the definition of "misleading" and "what font size is legally conspicuous enough yet will still be overlooked by the customer". Therefore the next step was to make very clear and very simple rules around "what is misleading?". One of them is something like "milk is the secretion from the udder of mamalians, nothing else".
That’s why make labels standardized. In fact they already are in a lot of ways. Nutrition facts, ingredients, allergens, etc.
Yes, and one of the standards is (unsurprisingly) not using misleading terminology such as "milk" for non-milk products. Just label it as "white oat drink" and you are fine...
Unlike all your examples, milk is not trademarked.
Additionally, there are a lot of examples where the term milk is used to describe a non-dairy product. E.g. coconut milk.
This is nowhere nearly as clear cut as you portray it.
Additionally, there are a lot of examples where the term milk is used to describe a non-dairy product. E.g. coconut milk.
This is nowhere nearly as clear cut as you portray it.
> In general I don't quite understand the "meat-envy" displayed by many vegans. As if there aren't tons of extremely delicious "vegan-original" foods
Because many vegans were meat eaters earlier in life. So they sometimes crave a tasty burger or sausage or salami, or a cheese-based dish for the same reason you do: they grew up eating those foods and learned to like them.
Because many vegans were meat eaters earlier in life. So they sometimes crave a tasty burger or sausage or salami, or a cheese-based dish for the same reason you do: they grew up eating those foods and learned to like them.
> In general I don't quite understand the "meat-envy" displayed by many vegans.
In general I don't understand the desire to insert a comment of this kind into every discussion about vegetarian/vegan foods.
That people might be vegetarian but also like the taste of meat seems such an obvious reason I don't understand why it doesn't occur to people.
In general I don't understand the desire to insert a comment of this kind into every discussion about vegetarian/vegan foods.
That people might be vegetarian but also like the taste of meat seems such an obvious reason I don't understand why it doesn't occur to people.
Milk isn't a brand. It's just a word. It's like the words "cola" or "Email client". Milk is essentially just an emulsion of fat with sugar and protein. The only one that is actually important for us is human milk. Otherwise it's all just food and should be called whatever people want to call it.
You are confusing branding with product description. Thunderbird can call itself 'a better programme' but not 'a better outlook'.
There is also no "meat envy". But you might like a dish called 'chicken tikka' and no longer eat chicken. Or you might be a meat eater unfamiliar with vegan products but want to cook for your son-in-law something similar as to what you cook for the rest of the family. Why should you not be able to buy a product called 'fake chicken' to be use as an alternative ingredient.
As long as the advertisement is not misreading (claiming in big letters 'chicken fingers' but actually in small script adding 'not made of chicken') there is literally no reason to prohibit such convenience labeling and naming schemes.
There is also no "meat envy". But you might like a dish called 'chicken tikka' and no longer eat chicken. Or you might be a meat eater unfamiliar with vegan products but want to cook for your son-in-law something similar as to what you cook for the rest of the family. Why should you not be able to buy a product called 'fake chicken' to be use as an alternative ingredient.
As long as the advertisement is not misreading (claiming in big letters 'chicken fingers' but actually in small script adding 'not made of chicken') there is literally no reason to prohibit such convenience labeling and naming schemes.
Milks and Sausage are not brand names. It would be more like a company advertising themselves as "not a search-engine".
Mostly agreed, at some point it’s just false advertising. If carrots should not be labeled “vegetable sausages”, so shouldn’t be “this is not *MILK* : a vegetarian parody” allowed. It’ll be especially troublesome when there are nutritional expectations.
Is milk a brand name? I thought it was just a word for boob juice.
I'm typing this on a machine literally running "not Unix."
I’d like to see some labelling crack down around some of the health claims of the obviously less-healthy alt-milks and plant based foods.
I’ve dabbled in some of the non-dairy milks, and do particularly like oat. However some of them are just sugar water and protein powder if you do a little digging.
I suppose there’s also concerns about infants being switched to dairy alternatives without consulting a doctor.
I’ve dabbled in some of the non-dairy milks, and do particularly like oat. However some of them are just sugar water and protein powder if you do a little digging.
I suppose there’s also concerns about infants being switched to dairy alternatives without consulting a doctor.
Why would you need to consult a doctor about not giving your kid dairy?
I'm not sure 'a doctor' is necessarily the right person to consult, but lack of it can induce lactose intolerance, and it's a good source of calcium which children have greater need of than adults (so a dairy-free diet that's been great for you for 20y isn't necessarily great for your child), and perhaps other vitamins, IANA expert.
And since GP said infants, if we're including (human) breast milk as 'dairy' then it probably is reasonable to ask doctor about it - IANA parent either but I think the standard powder or whatever substitutes are still (non-human) dairy products?
And since GP said infants, if we're including (human) breast milk as 'dairy' then it probably is reasonable to ask doctor about it - IANA parent either but I think the standard powder or whatever substitutes are still (non-human) dairy products?
Infants should not really be drinking anything else besides breast milk or special milk in general. Like not even water... So I could see how militant vegan people could endanger their babys. But not because plant based milk is inherently bad.
Is breast milk considered dairy? I've never met a vegan who has issues with breastfeeding
Remember that product safety labelling is for the 5% of population that are either idiots or insane.
Just because in your socio-economic circles, no one is a militant enough vegan to feed a nursing baby Oatly or whatever, doesn't mean people out there don't need some guidance.
I mean there's vegans out there putting their carnivore pets like cats on vegan diets, so you can see someone thinking "hey it's just another milk replacement.. it's healthy!" feeding it to an infant is certainly not a 0.001% edge case.
Just because in your socio-economic circles, no one is a militant enough vegan to feed a nursing baby Oatly or whatever, doesn't mean people out there don't need some guidance.
I mean there's vegans out there putting their carnivore pets like cats on vegan diets, so you can see someone thinking "hey it's just another milk replacement.. it's healthy!" feeding it to an infant is certainly not a 0.001% edge case.
To be fair in the end milk is also just sugar water with fat in it...
Right, but for infants, the balance of sugar-fat-protein is a matter of vital health, rather than texture&taste which is what most of the dairy milk substitutes are optimized for.
[deleted]
I can buy goat milk in the supermarket. I think nobody would assume that if they buy goat milk that it is the exact same as cow milk taste wise, or that it contains the same nutrients. Worst case: It takes somebody one time to figure out that goat milk in their hot chocolate milk was not a good idea.
Why is it so different with oat milk, almond milk, soy milk or whatever? You look at it in the supermarket and you can see the ingredients. Before consuming it you can see that it has a different colour than the milk you usually bought, different consistency and most importantly, different taste. But it is called milk, because for most things you can use it in a very very similar way as (cow) milk. You can put it into your tea, use it for your cereals, for cooking, whatever. Sure it tastes different and you need to give it a try if you like it and what kind of vegan milk you like.
But for me the milk is a hint about what ways I can consider using it; even when it is called "not milk". And I think that is the issue for the diary lobby. That might lower the barrier a bit for people to try it out, leading to some people potentially abandoning (fresh) animal milk altogether.
Why is it so different with oat milk, almond milk, soy milk or whatever? You look at it in the supermarket and you can see the ingredients. Before consuming it you can see that it has a different colour than the milk you usually bought, different consistency and most importantly, different taste. But it is called milk, because for most things you can use it in a very very similar way as (cow) milk. You can put it into your tea, use it for your cereals, for cooking, whatever. Sure it tastes different and you need to give it a try if you like it and what kind of vegan milk you like.
But for me the milk is a hint about what ways I can consider using it; even when it is called "not milk". And I think that is the issue for the diary lobby. That might lower the barrier a bit for people to try it out, leading to some people potentially abandoning (fresh) animal milk altogether.
It's about time we put and end to peanut butter and coconut milk. These products have the causing consumer confusion for too damn long. /s
Is there much consumer confusion here? Are people buying oat drink "dairy alternative" and thinking they can use it 1-to-1 in place of milk?
This feels like a silly way to go about it, especially as we should be lowering our consumption of these animal products.
I do not know if these products are better for the environment, so in general I just avoid the category. Except for cheese, can't not have cheese.
This feels like a silly way to go about it, especially as we should be lowering our consumption of these animal products.
I do not know if these products are better for the environment, so in general I just avoid the category. Except for cheese, can't not have cheese.
Judging from what I've read in online discussions... Absolutely. This is especially a problem for children, I'm pretty happy I wasn't fed oat "milk" as a child.
Imagine the unfortunate child who's been fed peanut butter to only find out it wasn't really butter.
[deleted]
Why?
One of the dairy industry lobbying arms is trying to convince us it's dangerous (e.g. with https://youtu.be/oLjEG8Qu1Qw) but it's bullshit.
One of the dairy industry lobbying arms is trying to convince us it's dangerous (e.g. with https://youtu.be/oLjEG8Qu1Qw) but it's bullshit.
Hopefully you were fed human milk. Are you suggesting children are being fed oat milk instead? I don't think you can buy human milk from shops yet so I don't see how this would help with that particular confusion.
tohnjitor(1)
I have mixed feelings about this...
On one hand, if you're vegan and want white stuff to put into coffee, the closest word to that would be "milk".
On the other hand, if i bought a "cheese and ham sandwich", I'd expect actual cheese and actual ham inside, without looking on the back side, if there is a "vegan" label or looking at ingredients list.
On one hand, if you're vegan and want white stuff to put into coffee, the closest word to that would be "milk".
On the other hand, if i bought a "cheese and ham sandwich", I'd expect actual cheese and actual ham inside, without looking on the back side, if there is a "vegan" label or looking at ingredients list.
> I'd expect actual cheese and actual ham inside
Would you? Really? Even if the product is genuinely indistinguishable? I would definitely be satisfied if it's indistinguishable, probably even before that.
Would you? Really? Even if the product is genuinely indistinguishable? I would definitely be satisfied if it's indistinguishable, probably even before that.
Well yeah, i bought a "ham and cheese sandwich" so give me ham and cheese. Anything else, I'd consider fraud.
Otherwise the manufacturers can start replacing everything with cheaper alternatives... fllet mignon? Just mechanically/chemically tenderize some cheap cut, it will be indistinguishable, and sell it at a same price. Honey? Just replace it with syrup and aromas, noone will notice. Not enough actual milk in baby formula? Just add melamine, noone will notice.
Otherwise the manufacturers can start replacing everything with cheaper alternatives... fllet mignon? Just mechanically/chemically tenderize some cheap cut, it will be indistinguishable, and sell it at a same price. Honey? Just replace it with syrup and aromas, noone will notice. Not enough actual milk in baby formula? Just add melamine, noone will notice.
If a state can’t wait to regulate something of which it is quite unclear if it needs regulation at all, then you usually find lobbyists in the background.
As a citizen I think there is high value in keeping the set of regulations as small and concise as possible. A state should twice weigh the benefit of regulation against the (opportunity) cost.
As a citizen I think there is high value in keeping the set of regulations as small and concise as possible. A state should twice weigh the benefit of regulation against the (opportunity) cost.
Imitation cheese is not cheese, whether it's plant-based or not.
I hope something similar comes to the US.
The FDA or FTC (forget which) just did a whole thing about whether almond milk and the link can leaglly call themselves milk. Their takeaway was yes they can because people are buying them intentionally due to them not being cow milk so there is no confusion going on.