ARLINGTON, VA – As part of the commemoration June 1 of World Milk Day, the National Milk Producers Federation said the public health case for the consumption of milk and other dairy foods is stronger today than ever – a fact that is increasingly recognized by health experts and consumers in the United States and across the globe.

ARLINGTON, VA – As part of the commemoration June 1 of World Milk Day, the National Milk Producers Federation said the public health case for the consumption of milk and other dairy foods is stronger today than ever – a fact that is increasingly recognized by health experts and consumers in the United States and across the globe.

“Today’s celebration – which coincides with the start in the United States of national June Dairy Month – acknowledges the inimitable role that milk and other dairy foods play in our diets,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “The undeniable good news about dairy products starts with its unmatched value as a superfood – no other food source comes close to providing the same nutrition.”

Mulhern noted that each glass of milk represents the No. 1 source in children’s’ diets of nine essential nutrients: Calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, riboflavin and niacin. Over the years, “this consistent nutritional package has earned dairy its unparalleled wholesome reputation – a healthy halo – that consumers recognize and trust. Meeting government nutrient recommendations is extremely difficult without including milk and dairy in your diet.”

He said that the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee found that when foods from the milk family were not part of people’s eating habits, intakes of many key nutrients fell below federal recommendations. In fact, Mulhern said, “milk is the top food source for calcium, potassium and vitamin D, three of the four ‘nutrients of public health concern’ — nutrients that many Americans, including children, are most lacking in their diets,” according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

“Since more than 90 percent of the U.S. population falls short of the recommended three daily servings of milk and milk products, including this fresh, simple and wholesome beverage at mealtimes can play an important role in healthy eating and well-being through adulthood,” he said.

When measured by the price per serving, milk is also one of the most cost-effective means to deliver a wide range of nutrition. Mulhern pointed to research from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which found that dairy is among the most economical foods across a variety of metrics, and that milk was among the lowest-cost sources of protein, vitamin A, calcium, vitamin B-12 and riboflavin.  If families try to replace dairy in their diets, “they will likely have to spend more in order to maintain the same nutrient intake,” he said.

Promoting the irreplaceable nutritional value of milk has been part of NMPF’s focus for the past six months as it has urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to strictly enforce food labeling regulations intended to distinguish between real and imitation dairy foods. FDA regulation says that anything labeled “milk” must be from an animal, but the agency has not enforced this rule “as plant-based food companies continue to co-opt dairy-specific terminology on their nutritionally inferior products,” Mulhern said. “Ignoring food product standards can mislead consumers into believing ‘fake food’ products offer the same nutrition as cow’s milk, which they definitely do not.”

In January, in support of NMPF’s efforts, a bipartisan group of senators and congressmen introduced the DAIRY PRIDE Act (DPA), which would require the FDA to take action to enforce food labeling regulations. NMPF, along with other dairy organizations, continues to build support in the House and Senate for the DPA.

“World Milk Day offers us a great opportunity to remind consumers here at home, and around the world, of the important benefits of real milk. It may have its imitators, but no other product can duplicate or replace the same unprocessed, natural goodness of the real thing,” Mulhern said.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, in collaboration with Colorado State University, is conducting a dairy farmer survey to learn more about perceptions of the FARM Program and how it can continue to improve the resources it offers producers.

The voluntary survey will probe producers’ knowledge of the program and the value they think it provides to their operations. The study will help FARM Animal Care better provide cooperatives and farmers with the appropriate guidance and materials required of FARM Program participants. Survey questions address topics such as the producer’s familiarity with the program, where they seek additional FARM Program information, and why stewardship practices, as assessed by FARM, are important to them. Those interested in taking the survey can do so by clicking here.

“Participants in the FARM Program produce more than 98 percent of the U.S. milk supply by volume, so it’s important that we understand producers’ thoughts on how FARM can further positively impact their businesses,” said Emily Meredith, chief of staff for NMPF, which launched the program in 2009. “Just like dairy farms are on a path of continuous improvement, the FARM Program wants to continuously improve how we work with our participants.”

The information gleaned from this survey will help advance the FARM Program by increasing its efficiency and impact for farmers. Improving the FARM Program will also assist the dairy industry in forming uniform objectives on animal welfare, and assist FARM Program staff in understanding and  catering to producers’ needs, Meredith said.

The study, titled “Dairy Producer Perceptions of the National Dairy FARM Program” is being led by Dr. Noa Román-Muñiz and Kayla Calvin from Colorado State University’s Department of Animal Sciences. The survey is confidential and only summarized data will be shared with the primary researchers, so participants cannot be identified directly.

Processors and cooperatives can contact dairyfarm@nmpf.org or Kayla Calvin at Colorado State kaylacalvin26@gmail.com if they want their organization to participate. Individual producers can take the online version or contact the FARM Program to be mailed a copy.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.

After years of frustrating inaction by government regulators who have failed to protect the integrity of dairy food labels, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can no longer ignore the growing demands that it enforce its own regulations against fake dairy foods. This is a welcome development for the entire dairy chain, which for decades has done a slow burn as the FDA turned a deaf ear to our complaints that standards of identity for products like milk, cheese, and yogurt are being violated by an expanding list of plant-based imitators that are undeniably not dairy foods.

A welcome indication that our effort to challenge the mislabeling of dairy imitators has reached a tipping point is the passage of a resolution at last month’s biennial meeting of the National Conference of Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS).  As FDA officials gathered in Grand Rapids to consult on milk safety issues with state milk regulators and industry groups like NMPF, the conference voted unanimously to ask the FDA to work with them to ensure the proper use of milk product labeling terms.  State officials have witnessed the same concerning trend all of us in the dairy community have seen:  when the regulatory cop is not on the beat, clever marketers will capitalize on that void and violate long-standing food labeling standards by marketing almond “milk," soy “cheese” and rice “yogurt.”  And when the latest “milks” are coming from pulverized quinoa, algae and hemp, it’s past time something needs to be done.

Through the NCIMS resolution, state regulators delivered a clear message that they need federal assistance in the supervision of all products utilizing standardized dairy terms.  This wake-up call to FDA not only should generate clarity for regulators and dairy marketers; ultimately, it also will benefit consumers, who face an increasingly bewildering assortment of imitation dairy products, all wanting to bask in milk’s halo without offering the same consistent level of nutrition.

This same concern is behind efforts on Capitol Hill to pass the Dairy Pride Act, which was introduced in the Senate and House earlier this year.  The DPA is Congress’s expression of distress about FDA’s passivity in the face of an explosion of alt-dairy foods that are in violation of the Code of Federal Regulations.  The Dairy Pride Act doesn’t change those standards of identity; it merely requires the FDA to enforce what’s already on the books.  We’ve been working closely on a bipartisan basis with lawmakers to move the DPA forward. (You can use our website to send a letter to Congress in support of the measure). And I was greatly encouraged by the recent endorsement of the DPA by the American Cheese Society.  “Cultured nut products” calling themselves cheese is yet another disturbing trend that defenders of real dairy foods need to work together to challenge.

Beyond these two important developments, what’s been fascinating to see is how the makers of the plant-based imitators are responding to this pressure.  On the one hand, they’ve dissed the Dairy Pride Act, and the need for FDA to take enforcement action.  But at the same time, they appear to be feeling the heat. Just a few weeks ago they held an industry meeting to review the potential compliance challenges their products may have with FDA’s standards of identity.  Despite their cheeky public disregard of FDA policy, these fake food marketers know full well that they are playing fast and loose with labeling regulations in a manner that exposes them to potential legal liability. They appear to recognize that a continued reliance on FDA to do nothing is a shaky strategy, placing their brands in jeopardy going forward.

So what’s the end game here?  Certainly, there’s a market for dairy alternatives that, while small on a volume basis, is going to be filled by some non-dairy beverages.  We have never contended that consumers should be denied that choice.  But the purpose of government food standards is to prevent false and misleading labeling.  Co-opting the name, imagery and packaging of real milk, while not offering the same nutritional content, is absolutely false and misleading marketing. Other countries actually do a much better job of enforcing milk labeling terminology, which is why terms such as “almondmilk” and “soy milk” are not found on plant beverages sold in the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada. Plant-based imitators in those places have found other ways to label their products.

One big irony is that that if a dairy processor did what purveyors of these fake milks are doing – mixing dried dairy powders (like whey and lactose) with water and selling it in the dairy case as “milk” – consumer advocates and the FDA would be howling about such a deception. Real milk is undeniably dairy. The imitators may try hard to deny their products’ origins through clever formulations and splashy packaging, but the FDA needs to deny them the use of dairy names.

ARLINGTON, VA – The second annual National Dairy FARM Program Evaluator Conference will be held in Indianapolis, Ind., from July 18-19, with an optional farm trip to Fair Oaks Farm on July 20. More than 400 certified FARM Program evaluators will have the chance to network and discuss relevant topics in animal care, environmental stewardship and antibiotic stewardship.

Starting on Tuesday, July 18, FARM evaluators will spend a day with key Elanco staff, focusing on professional development and learning more about Elanco’s global business of feeding a growing population. Wednesday, July 19, features a full day of programming, including presentations on “The Economics of Animal Well-Being,” as well as insight from a panel of farmers and veterinarians on the importance of protocol development and employee training.

“We are excited to host a dedicated group of FARM evaluators for what will be three full days of enlightening conversation and learning,” said Emily Meredith, chief of staff for the National Milk Producers Federation. “Nurturing strong relationships among members of the animal care community will only enhance our ability to share the industry’s great story of top-notch animal care.”

Elanco is also a sponsor for this year’s event, in addition to Zoetis and Merck Animal Health.

Thursday’s optional trip to Fair Oaks Farms includes a tour of the dairy’s facilities and a discussion with co-founder Mike McCloskey, farm veterinarians and management staff about how Fair Oaks implements training and protocols for the high-level care of their animals and land. Located in Fair Oaks, Ind., the agritourism operation offers educational opportunities about dairy, hog and crop farming.

Registration is $199, with the optional Fair Oaks tour costing an additional $50. For more information and to register for the conference, please visit the conference website.

This is the second Evaluator Conference hosted by the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program. The first was held last fall in Nashville, Tenn., after the NMPF Joint Annual Meeting. Created in 2009 by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the FARM Program raises the bar for the entire dairy industry – creating a culture of continuous improvement.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. dairy industry commended Robert Lighthizer, the newly confirmed U.S. Trade Representative, for taking swift action under the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act (TPA) to begin the process for modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In a notification letter sent today to Congress, Ambassador Lighthizer outlined some of the areas of the agreement that are either outdated or missing – several of which are important to the U.S. dairy industry – and reaffirmed commitment to pursuing the trade priorities outlined by TPA, including goals related to market access and curbing the abuse of geographical indications. He also emphasized the importance of effectively implementing and aggressively enforcing the commitments made by Canada and Mexico, two of the dairy industry’s top trade partners.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) have repeatedly urged administration officials and legislators to focus on maintaining what has worked well, such as trade with Mexico, the top market for U.S. dairy exports. The dairy groups have also continued to call for improving market access to Canada and tackling that country’s expanding list of protectionist policies and other barriers to U.S. dairy exports.

“As an industry, we fully support the administration’s call to modernize NAFTA. Without this trade agreement and the market access it provides, the United States would stand to lose nearly $2 billion annually in dairy exports and tens of thousands of farming and manufacturing jobs in communities across the country,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO. “The issues of geographical indications, intellectual property rights and ways to resolve sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) are also of keen interest to the dairy industry. We look forward to working with Ambassador Lighthizer and other Trump Administration officials during the renegotiation process to provide helpful data and input.”

“We agree with Ambassador Lighthizer that the current NAFTA agreement has areas upon which we can build as the renegotiation process begins, including the market we have developed in Mexico,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Obviously, dairy trade with Canada – where we continue to face 200%-300% tariffs and a slew of nontariff policies that distort dairy trade – is an entirely different story, and we need to address it as part of these talks. Central to any successful NAFTA negotiations will be changes to Canada’s new policies designed to harm bilateral trade and dump their structural dairy surplus on the world market.”

“With this first step, I now encourage the administration to swiftly commence modernization negotiations with our NAFTA partners and prioritize their quick conclusion,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “Mexico is our only $1 billion dairy market; finding a replacement for sales that are so critical to supporting tens of thousands of jobs across this country is no small task, so preserving it is essential. At the same time, numerous opportunities exist to shore up open trade and further deepen it with our NAFTA partners, such as addressing Canada’s tariff and nontariff constraints on dairy trade, instituting stronger SPS commitments and ensuring that geographical indications are not used to restrict the use of common names.”

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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers with a membership of nearly 525 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA’s nearly 200 dairy processing members operate more than 600 manufacturing facilities and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. Visit IDFA at www.idfa.org.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, Va., develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of U.S. dairy producers and the cooperatives they collectively own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S, milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit www.nmpf.org.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Its mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. USDEC accomplishes this through programs in market development that build global demand for U.S. dairy products, resolve market access barriers and advance industry trade policy goals. USDEC is supported by staff across the United States and overseas in Mexico, South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe.

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH – State milk regulators today requested that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) work with them to enforce the proper use of milk and milk product labeling terms, especially those meant to distinguish between real dairy products and plant-based imitators – a development the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) hailed as “the strongest statement yet that the abuse of dairy terms has gone too far.”

“It’s time for FDA to work with state agencies in defending standards of identity for dairy products,” said Beth Briczinski, NMPF’s vice president of dairy foods and nutrition.

The pushback by state officials against FDA’s history of inaction on labeling enforcement came Wednesday at the biennial meeting of the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) in Grand Rapids this week. The NCIMS is a national cooperative regulatory program that includes state milk regulatory agencies, dairy companies and FDA. The states collaborate with federal regulators and industry groups to ensure the safety and integrity of dairy products regulated under the Grade “A” program, including fluid milk, yogurt and other dairy products.

During today’s NCIMS session, state milk safety regulators voted unanimously in favor of a resolution intended to clarify the responsibilities of FDA and state programs in ensuring the proper use of standardized dairy product names.

“The state agencies, through their vote today, acknowledged that more effort is needed from FDA to clarify the role of State Milk Regulatory Programs in assuring the proper use of the standardized names of milk and milk products,” said Briczinski. “FDA needs to stop picking and choosing which regulations it wants to enforce.”

For example, FDA’s standards of identity specify that milk is the product of cows and other dairy animals, and that yogurt is the product obtained exclusively from the culturing of dairy ingredients.  Absent any regulatory consistency about how these label terms are applied, “consumers are bound to be confused and misled by the growing variance in the nutritional and compositional content of imitation foods made from nuts, seeds and grains, but purporting to be dairy products,” Briczinski said.

By approving this resolution, “the NCIMS delegates are acknowledging that states need federal assistance in the regulation of all products utilizing standardized dairy terms. This will ultimately benefit consumers, who face an increasingly bewildering assortment of imitation dairy products,” Briczinski said.

A renewed emphasis by FDA on the regulation of dairy terms would bring the United States into closer alignment with how the issue is handled in other countries, Briczinski noted. Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union “do not allow plant-based imitators to call themselves milk on their packages. We have the same regulation on the books in the United States, but there has been no effort to enforce that policy. Today’s decision will hopefully create a new approach to the issue.”

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.

ARLINGTON, VA – The dairy industry is eager to work with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to protect and expand market access for U.S. dairy while addressing problematic Canadian dairy policies, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) said today following Lighthizer’s Senate confirmation.

Lighthizer will begin work on a variety of pressing trade policy issues, including the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), expanding market access channels in Asia, and preventing the loss of common food names.

“We welcome Mr. Lighthizer’ s confirmation because of his grasp of global trade rules and understanding of the importance of balanced trade agreements to the U.S. dairy sector,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “We will continue to urge USTR to focus on protecting Mexico, our No. 1 market, insist that Canada revoke its detrimental new milk pricing policy, and pursue additional export opportunities around the world.”

Another significant challenge for Ambassador Lighthizer is the European Union’s aggressive stance on the use of geographic indications (GIs). Not only must the United States resist using GIs at home, Lighthizer has said, it should discourage other countries from agreeing to use them, as well.

“As the Trump Administration’s trade policy strategy develops, we want to build upon the U.S. government’s past successes in pushing back against the EU’s global GI agenda,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “We also want to examine opportunities for bilateral trade agreements in key markets like Japan.” Vilsack recently visited Japan on a trade mission.

Lighthizer’s experience includes deputy trade representative under President Ronald Reagan, chief of staff for the Senate Finance Committee, as well as direct private sector experience in enforcing trade rules on behalf of his clients.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, Va., develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of U.S. dairy producers and the cooperatives they collectively own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S, milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit www.nmpf.org.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Its mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. USDEC accomplishes this through programs in market development that build global demand for U.S. dairy products, resolve market access barriers and advance industry trade policy goals. USDEC is supported by staff across the United States and overseas in Mexico, South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe.

ARLINGTON, VA – “We congratulate Dr. Gottlieb on his confirmation by the Senate today. NMPF will engage with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s new leadership on ways to strengthen the safety of the food supply, promote the judicious use of antimicrobials in livestock, and ensure the clear, consistent labeling of foods regulated by FDA.

“We share Commissioner Gottlieb’s goal of remedying the bureaucratic inertia that has hindered FDA’s work on several issues. This should include the proper labeling of foods that are disregarding FDA standards of identity. For too long, FDA has not responded to dairy imitators’ obvious violation of FDA’s clear definition that milk, cheese, ice cream and yogurt must be made from real dairy sources.

“We welcome a more proactive, responsive FDA on the food standards issue to reduce the confusing terminology proliferating in grocery stores and retail food markets. This will greatly enhance the credibility of the agency as the federal authority on food labeling, composition and safety.”

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.