Watch: Here’s What Dairy And Plant-Based Brands Think About The Meaning of Milk

A war over words is curdling the dairy world.

Last month Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) proposed the Dairy Pride Act, which seeks to prohibit pea, nut, and coconut based foods, among others, from using terms such as yogurt, cheese, butter and milk that are traditionally associated with dairy products. The bill came one month after Reps. Mike Simpson (R-ID) and Peter Welch (D-VT) sent a letter to the FDA asking the agency to better police plant-based products using dairy terminology.

The reasoning behind these political actions was to “avoid consumer confusion.” The Plant Based Foods Association sent a letter to the FDA last week defending the growing sector, which was estimated at $4.9B by SPINS last year, from what they are describing as “recent unfounded attacks.”

But is there really confusion on the market as to whether these alternative brands actually contain animal products like cow’s milk? During the 2017 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, we spoke with both dairy and alternative dairy brands to find out how they perceive the market.