Labeling has been a big issue in agriculture for a long time now, but it never seems to get very far. The issue is that some products, such as soy beverage and others are labeling the products with words like “milk,” even when it’s not truly milk. The same thing happens with meat products. People create foods that are plant-based and have no meat in them, but they use vocabulary like “meat.”
This week there was a public hearing for Senate Bills 81, 82, and 83, which relate to truthful labeling of dairy products, meat and milk. The bills require that a product labeled with the word “milk,” only comes from animals, and plant-based products can’t be classified as meat. A similar bill was circulating through Madison last year before COVID-19 became a bigger issue and then was stopped.
“The purpose for bringing these bills before the Wisconsin legislature is to recognize the value of the trust our farmers have spent years building in the marketplace and join other states whose food producers also rely on the accepted terminology in the markets,” said WFBF Senior Director of Governmental Relations Debi Towns. “We would like Wisconsin agriculture to be positioned to join with those who stand to protect the food markets we have worked so hard to establish.”
WFBF says that they will continue to keep truthful labeling of milk, meat, and dairy products a top priority. They aren’t giving up on the issue. A full copy of the testimony submitted by WFBF can be read here.
