Jan. 2017 update: Sign and share our petition: Tell Big Dairy to label its products “cow milk.”

Dairy-free, plant-based milks are flying off the shelves as more and more Americans choose vegan alternatives free of cholesterol and cruelty.

It seems a growing number of consumers have stopped swallowing the lies about dairy being good for our bodies, and studies continue to confirm that dairy poses many health risks for us (got lactose intolerance?).

Consumers are also dropping milk after discovering just how cruel the dairy industry is to cows and how it’s cheated consumers. Animal Outlook conducted initial case research that led to a class action lawsuit that has now settled, with the industry paying consumers $52M for a scheme that killed 500,000 young cows to illegally inflate milk prices.

With sales slumping and studies showing that each generation drinks less milk than the one before it, Big Dairy is crying over spilled milk — it is literally dumping millions of gallons of overproduced milk down the drain. All this while the dairy-free market is soaring and set to reach $20B by 2020 even despite Big Dairy’s attempt to squash sales of almond milk (the most popular alternative).

In another desperate move, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) petitioned the federal government in 2010 aiming to stop the use of words like “milk,” “cheese,” “yogurt” or “ice cream” on dairy-free products. In other words, Big Dairy doesn’t want soy milk called “milk.”

The FDA has not granted Big Dairy’s request, so six years later, the NMPF whipped up a handful of Congress members to join their fight by sending a letter to the FDA suggesting that such product labeling (ie soy milk) is “misleading and illegal” – oh, and it of course cited the dairy industry’s “financial crisis.”

But really … misleading?

In the NMPF’s own words in its 2010 petition, it stated, “Food labels should clearly and accurately identify the true nature of the food to the consumer.”

Indeed — that’s it: The dairy industry should start referring to its products as “cow milk,” “cow ice cream” and so on to offer a more clear description. That way, consumers would know the true nature of the food they are purchasing.

After all, cow’s milk is produced by cows (for cows and their calves), so why not just say it?

And if you prefer to leave cow’s milk for cows, you’ll find it’s easier than ever to try dairy-free. We have plenty of of recipes, product recommendations and more at TryVeg.com.

TAKE ACTION: Sign and share our petition on Change.org.