During an annual meeting in 2018, the Dairy Farmers of America released statistics showing that milk sales dropped by 1.1 billion dollars in 2018. This was an 8 percent reduction from 2017 when it was $14.7 billion to $13.6 billion in 2018.
This was a result of a low milk price and a major change in consumers from animal-based to plant-based options like almond, soy, and cashew milk.
The Dairy Industry Isn’t Pleased
As a response to their drop in sales, lobbyist for dairy have been trying to ban marketable terms like cheese, milk, and dairy-free that plant-based product manufacturers use.
They hope that this will confuse the buyers and make it more difficult to describe the new product and the people will be pushed back into buying dairy.
The name of this act is ‘The Defending against Imitations and Replacement of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act’. For Michele Simon, executive director of Plant Based Food Association, this is against the constitution and misleading!
The pro-dairy groups aren’t happy about this and with the current statistics; this is an alarm for their business.
Namely, back in 2017, the Department of Agriculture released a report that showed a drop in milk consumption by 22 percent between 2000 and 2016.
On the other hand, the vegan alternatives industry is worth $17.3 billion and predicted to almost double by the year of 2023.
Is Dairy that Scary?
The reduction in dairy consumption isn’t random- research continues showing the negative impact of dairy on humans, including bone problems, higher cancer rates, inflammation, hormonal intake, pesticide intake, and more.
However, rather than adjusting away from the bad product, the dairy advocates hold onto it in fear of change and create and spread lies and deceive the public about the real effects of dairy.
Not every dairy farmer is fighting back- Elmherst Milked, a former dairy producer had no turning to plant-based production. According to Henry Schwartz, whose grandfather started the company, it was high time to rethink the past and begin making food traditions that will lead us into the future.
In a period of two years, the company was transitioning towards a more humane, healthier, and nutritious plant-based milk production.
Without doubt, it’s the time to question who we are, what we do, and why, but also take into consideration the effects of our doings on others, including animals and the environment.
If this company could adjust, so can others. We’re all facing challenges however, change is possible, and we’re witnessing it.
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