Lawmakers are currently weighing in on a bill that would create a legal definition for milk.
Maybe you put coconut milk in your Thai curry soup. Perhaps you use almond milk or soy milk because you’re lactose intolerant or maybe because you’re vegan. Well the Virginia House of Delegates has a message for you. None of that stuff is milk.
Delegate Barry Knight of Virginia Beach introduced a bill that defines milk as “the lacteal secretion of a healthy hooved mammal.”
“Milk has eight times the nutritional value of plant-based fluids described as milk," Knight says. "This is confusing to people.”
But is it really confusing? Susan Levin at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine says nobody is confused about milk.
“As a citizen, I’m concerned an industry with deep pockets is trying to monopolize a word that it has no right to own," she explains. "As a dietician I’m concerned this effort could be at the detriment of consumers who would benefit from choosing healthier plant milks.”
The bill passed the House of Delegates with a vote of 66 to 32. It’ll now be considered in the state Senate.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
