Politicians Moving To Ban Plant-Based Alternatives From Calling Themselves 'Milk', 'Meat' And 'Seafood'

There has been a massive surge in the number of plant-based alternative food products lining our supermarkets.

You've got a plant alternative for milk, meat and seafood and that means wonders for those that are vegan or avoid the natural products for whatever reason.

However, there is a growing chorus of people who want their labelling to be very clear as they feel they're harming farmers.

That's why the Nationals Party is pushing for a ban on these products from being able to call themselves 'milk' or 'meat'.

PA

Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie said: "If you want chicken - natural chicken, actual chicken - then that's what it should be called. If you want plant-based protein that tastes like chicken, then that's what it should be called.

"At the moment, there's ambiguity and, I would suggest, deliberate attempts by some of these plant-based protein manufacturers to trade on the good, honest work of our meat producers or our milk producers."

They'll certainly have the support of Aussie dairy farmers, who have been calling for this to happen in the milk industry for ages.

Kjokkenutstyr.net/Creative Commons

Merriam Webster says milk is defined as 'a fluid secreted by the mammary glands of females for the nourishment of their young'.

Australian Dairy Farmers President Terry Richardson said in a statement: "Australia needs to restore truth in product labelling so that consumers can make more accurate food and beverage choices.

"Over the pact decade, a growing number of plant-based products have cropped up, using the name milk, co-opting the look and feel of dairy milk right down to the packaging, and trading on dairy's reputation to gain a marketing advantage.

A survey conducted two years ago found 54 percent of people were buying milk alternatives because they thought they were healthier.

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The Australian Dairy Farmers say a change in the law will bring the country in line with European laws.

"We are calling for changes to the food standards so that consumers trying to make a healthy choice at the supermarket have the benefit of transparent and accurate product labelling," Mr Richardson said.

When it comes to milk, products must define where the source comes from, aka Almond Milk or Soy Milk. However these farmers don't even want the word milk being used in the product because they feel it isn't representative of the actual product.

It'll be interesting to see whether the Nationals' appetite to regulate the market will be picked up by other politicians.

Topics: Food, News, Australia, Politics

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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