Holstein Association USA represents dairy farmers across the U.S. who want to make an honest living milking cows and take great pride in providing nutritious food for consumers. In order to assist our members to better balance supply and demand to increase the price dairymen are being paid for their milk, we support implementing a program to better manage milk supply - the Dairy Price Stabilization Program (DPSP). The DPSP is a market access fee program that still allows managed growth of dairy farms.
Holstein USA proposed the DPSP ten years ago. Bills were introduced and it narrowly missed being included in the Farm Bill at the time. Today, research has looked back on what it would have done if implemented, and the results are positive. In March 2019, the Holstein Association USA board voted to take a position of support on the DPSP program again.
On behalf of its 25,000 dairy farmer members nationwide, Holstein Association USA supports legislation that enforces labeling terms being used to market imitation products containing no real dairy ingredients.
The Dairy Pride Act has been introduced in the Senate (S.130) and the House of Representatives (H.R. 778). These acts would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action against misbranded, plant-based beverages that are inappropriately using dairy terms, especially “milk.”
FDA regulations (CFR 131.110) define “milk” as a product of a cow, with similar definitions for yogurt and cheese products. Though existing federal policy is clear on this subject, FDA has not challenged the labeling practices of imitators made out of nuts, beans, seeds and grains, which have been branding themselves with dairy-specific terms. This practice misleads consumers into thinking these products provide similar nutritional qualities found in real milk and other dairy products, when in reality, they do not.
The lack of enforcement on proper dairy labelling terms in the United States differs from that of similar nations, which police the matter closely. For example, in Canada, you will find the same brand of almond beverage labelled as “almond milk” in the US, but the word “milk” cannot be found on the product’s label in Canada.
Dairy farmers work hard to provide consumers with nutritious food, and ensure they meet FDA’s high standards. These bills uphold the high-standards and integrity that farmers practice every day to produce wholesome, high-quality milk, and support consumption of real dairy products.
National Dairy Council |
National Milk Producers Federation |
|