Screenshot from Spectrum News report on Monday, June 14.
The so-called DAIRY PRIDE act is getting a new push. This is the national legislation seeking to restrict the wording of animal-free milks, yogurts and cheeses. It failed to pass in 2017. Now politicians in cattle-industry states, led by Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin, have renewed their goal of passing this bill to help their states’ cattle farmers.
Earlier this week, the American Vegan Society was asked to weigh in for a Spectrum News segment with Wisconsin reporter Taurean Small.
Our position is that however valid or invalid the bill, it is largely irrelevant whether it passes. That’s because consumers aren’t focusing on individual words like “milk,” “yogurt,” and “cheese,” but on brands they trust. Many are buying alt-milks specifically because they’re animal-free. So this heavy-handed label ban, if passed, would likely do little to reverse the decline in cow’s milk consumption.
Communications Director Vance Lehmkuhl stepped in to deliver our message, while we and the rest of the nation wait to see what will happen with this latest iteration of DAIRY PRIDE.
