The dictionary describes the work “milk” as both a noun and a verb (to milk). One of the definitions is “any liquid resembling this [the liquid secreted by female mammals] as the liquid within a coconut, the juice or sap of certain plants [like the thistle], or various pharmaceutical preparations [i.e.: milk of magnesia]. Some of the other definitions is “to exploit: the swindler milked her of all her savings”, or “to extract such as in: He’s good at milking laughs from the audience”.
Now the National Milk Producers Federation is petitioning the FDA for a second time to ban all other products from using the term milk. Their targets are products like soy milk, almond milk, etc. The first time they tried this back in 2000, the FDA didn’t go for it, but that was before producers started branding things soy cheese, “r”ice cream and even non-dairy yogurt.
In a press release from the NMPF, it’s President and CEO Jerry Kozak says: “The FDA has allowed the meaning of ‘milk’ to be watered down to the point where many products that use the term have never seen the inside of a barn.” The NMPF is trying to correct the “misappropriation of dairy terminology on imitation milk products.” He goes on to state: “You don’t got milk if it comes from a hemp plant, you can’t say cheese if it’s made from rice, and faux yogurt can’t be made from soy and still be called yogurt,” says Kozak.
According to Bob Vosburgh with SuperMarket News, “The crux of the NMPF argument is that, by using dairy terminology, non-dairy alternatives are positioning themselves as equivalents when, in fact, they contain vastly different ingredients and vary widely in nutritional value.”
I’ve always had a difficult time with the branding of words instead of names. It’s alright to copyright or trademark a name like “Brandy’s Coffee House”, but it agitates me when someone trademarks the word “Boulongerie” a common French word meaning “bakery”. So can the NMPF ‘trademark’ the word Milk? If they won would the award winning Sean Penn movie have to choose a different name? Would comedians no longer be milking audiences or would swindlers no longer be milking savings? Would Milk of Magnesia now have to be called Opaque Liquid of Magnesia?
Perhaps the meat industry will have to go after “nut meats” or “mince meat pie”, or maybe, finally the grocery produce industry will finally resolve that age old question of whether a tomato is a vegetable or a fruit.
Milk Milk Everywhere!
Written by Bud Perry
Wow, I would think that most of the people that buy the non dairy versions of “milk” are like me, lactose intolerant and not able to drink milk. Just because what I drink is labeled as “milk” doesn’t mean I’m crazy enough to believe it.
I find this whole article hilarious.