The Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, milk, and cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act (DAIRY PRIDE Act), introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), would require non-dairy products made from nuts, seeds, plants, and algae to no longer be mislabeled with dairy terms such as milk, yogurt, or cheese. (A January 12, 2017 press release issued by Sen. Baldwin’s office on the Act can be found here.) While the dairy industry and others applaud the bill (see our previous entry on opposition by members of Congress to labeling plant-based products as “milk”), others are strongly opposed.

Baldwin’s office issued a follow-up press release on January 27 announcing additional support for the Dairy Pride Act from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau. The release quotes American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall view that the reputation that milk has earned “should not be falsely appropriated by marketers of non-dairy products.”

On the other side of the debate, the Good Food Institute is encouraging people to voice their opposition to the legislation by signing a petition, titled, “Tell Congress to Dump the “DAIRY PRIDE Act.” As of today, more than 27,000 people had signed the petition. The petition argues, “No one is purchasing plant-based milk, cheese, or yogurt because they’ve been tricked into thinking it’s a cow’s ‘lacteal secretions.’”

This debate is taking place as sale of milk is declining. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that per capita consumption of fluid milk in the U.S. has gone from 201 pounds per person in 1997 to 155 in 2015. The Good Food Institute argues that the Dairy Pride Act is an effort by the dairy industry to gain government help to target the competition.