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Baldwin says Dairy PRIDE is necessary

The lead author of the DAIRY PRIDE Act says Congress needs to force the Food and Drug Administration to enforce its own standards of identity rules, and this bill would do that. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin tells Brownfield, “It’s time we stop these imitation dairy products from getting away by using dairy’s good name for their own profits when they don’t have to meet any of those standards.”

The standards require dairy terms like milk, cheese, and yogurt to be used on items made from the milk of a lactating animal, but dairy terminology has been used on plant-based substitutes for decades. 

Alan Bjerga with the National Milk Producers Federation tells Brownfield the DAIRY PRIDE Act might help the FDA begin enforcing its standards with less backlash from the plant-based producers… something Baldwin agrees with. “I think that reasoning is great, and so let’s pass it. Let’s pass DAIRY PRIDE and get FDA to enforce their own standards.”

The DAIRY PRIDE Act was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate on February 28^th after it failed to pass in the last Congress. 

The bill is officially called the Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese to Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act. Along with Baldwin, the bill is supported by Jim Risch (R-ID), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Peter Welch (D-VT), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Angus King (I-ME), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

Update: The companion bill was introduced in the U.S. House Wednesday, March 8th. The representatives supporting the DAIRY PRIDE Act in the House include Derrick Van Orden (WI-03). John Joyce M.D. (PA-13), Ann Kuster (NH-02), Angie Craig (MN-02), Mike Simson (ID-02), and Joe Courtney (CT-02).