Almond Beverage, Oat Water, and Soaked Soybean Juice: How the Dairy Pride Act Attempts to Remedy Consumer Confusion About Plant-Based Milks

Authors

Michelle E. Hoffer, University of Richmond School of Law

Abstract

With sales of plant-based milks, such as almond and soy milk, on the rise and dairy industry sales declining, dairy industry supporters are taking issue with plant-based milk products calling themselves “milk.”10 In an effort to combat the “mislabeling” of non-dairy products, a few Senators banded together in an attempt to save the dairy industry by creating the DAIRY PRIDE Act.11 The Act was introduced in an effort to prohibit plant-based milk producers from using the term “milk” on their products and instead use a less misleading name, such as “almond imitation milk” or “soy beverage.”12 This Comment argues that, although the DAIRY PRIDE Act claims to remedy consumer confusion regarding the nutritional value of these plant-based products, the Act’s practical effect is to create anticompetitive issues between the dairy and plant-based milk industries by allowing Congress to pick winners and losers in this space, which could lead to congressional overreach in other markets under the guise of helping the consumer.

Recommended Citation

Michelle E. Hoffer, Almond Beverage, Oat Water, and Soaked Soybean Juice: How the Dairy Pride Act Attempts to Remedy Consumer Confusion About Plant-Based Milks, 55 U. Rich. L. Rev. 657 (2021).
Available at: https://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview/vol55/iss2/7