PHOENIX, AZ – Citing data that shows consumers are being misled about the nutritional merits of cow’s milk versus plant-based imitators, NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern today called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to end deceptive labeling of fake-dairy products.

“The plant-based food and beverage industry has used FDA inaction as a cover to sell consumers a product that is heavily processed to look like real milk, but doesn’t deliver what matters most: a consistent, high-quality package of nutrients,” Mulhern said in remarks at NMPF’s annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. “This is contrary to the national goal of a healthy population and FDA’s mission to promote transparency and fairness,” he said. The consumer research will be shared with FDA as the agency solicits information on the public health implications of mislabeled, imitation dairy products.

In a survey by IPSOS, commissioned by Dairy Management Inc.:

• 73 percent of consumers believed that almond-based drinks had as much or more protein per serving than milk. Milk has eight times as much protein.
• 53 percent said they believed that plant-based food manufacturers labeled their products “milk” because their nutritional value is similar. That is not the case.
• Misinformation was more prevalent among those who only bought plant-based drinks. Of those buyers, 68 percent strongly or somewhat agreed those drinks have the same nutritional content as dairy milk. In reality, those beverages do not.

With media reports suggesting an increase in the number of U.S. children suffering from nutritionally inadequate diets, milk labeling “is much more than a sideshow over whether consumers can tell the difference between an almond or a cow,” Mulhern said. Consumers deserve more respect than that – but FDA needs to help them out by clearly distinguishing between true milk and water-heavy, nutrition-poor imitators, he said.

“FDA needs to immediately end the application of the term ‘milk’ to non-dairy products,” he said.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, Virginia, 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 U.S. Trade Representative this week announced progress in talks with the Philippines under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). U.S. dairy producers and processors appreciate the Administration’s work to preserve and deepen market access ties with a country that purchased $243 million in U.S. dairy products last year.

In a joint statement released about the recent achievements in resolving trade issues under the TIFA, both governments agreed that they should work together to benefit agriculture. This is viewed as a promising development given Southeast Asia’s growing market for dairy products.

U.S. officials noted that the Philippines has been handling geographical indications (GIs) in a fair manner that preserves the use of common names and welcomed their commitment to “discuss ways to ensure that Philippine laws, regulations, and policies do not restrict or prohibit entry of U.S. products in the Philippine market.”

To further that goal, the Philippines confirmed that “it will not provide automatic GI protection, including to terms exchanged as part of a trade agreement.” Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, said this assurance is significant because of the European Union’s ongoing campaign to use GIs to block U.S. dairy sales.

“The Philippine economy is strengthening, its population is growing, and more consumers are moving up into the middle class,” explained Vilsack. “In short, there is tremendous potential for greater U.S. dairy sales in the Philippines and this week’s announcement gets us a step closer to realizing this opportunity. USTR’s work to keep those doors open today and pursue ways to crack them open further in the future is certainly appreciated by dairy producers and processors across the country.”

National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) President and CEO Jim Mulhern said developments are positive for dairy producers facing economic challenges.

“The rural economy is having a rough time, dairy prices are low, and our farmers are struggling,” Mulhern said. “Trade will be key to turning things around. USTR’s work to forge positive pathways with the Philippines is a building block in that process. The next step is to move forward with a free trade agreement to allow our industry to compete head to head with other suppliers in the region.”

U.S. negotiators also secured a commitment from the Philippines to consider petitions for voluntarily lowering tariff rates on certain agricultural products, including cheeses. This is a step in the right direction toward U.S. exporters bridging the competition gap created by trade agreements between the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.

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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.

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 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) needs to better reflect the dairy-farm incomes lost to tariff retaliation when it calculates its next round of trade mitigation payments, the National Milk Producers Federation said today.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, NMPF Chairman and dairy farmer Randy Mooney cited four studies illustrating that milk producers have experienced more than $1 billion in lost income since May, when the retaliatory tariffs were first placed on dairy goods in response to U.S. levies on foreign products. In contrast, the first round of USDA trade mitigation payments, announced in August, allocated only $127 million to dairy farmers.

“We are ever-grateful for your advocacy on agricultural trade, which is crucial to the economic health of our industry,” wrote Mooney, who operates Mooney Dairy in Rogersville, Missouri, with his wife, Jan. “However, our members are greatly concerned about the level of aid that was provided in the initial effort.”

The letter details four analyses, including two independent studies using sophisticated economic modeling, that each show losses to dairy producers far above USDA’s initial payment level.

• NMPF analyzed the CME dairy futures-based milk prices through the end of 2018, based on the settlement prices in late May, just before retaliatory tariffs were announced, with those same prices after tariffs had been thoroughly incorporated into market expectations.  The expected impact of the retaliation may result in roughly $1.5 billion in lost revenue for producers during the second half of 2018.
• USDA’s own monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) showed a drop in its forecast milk prices for the full 2018 calendar year of $0.70/cwt., after the imposition of the tariffs. The WASDE estimate amounts to a loss in dairy farm income of $1.5 billion for the year.
• An Informa Agribusiness Consulting study estimated that the tariffs would lower U.S. dairy farm income by $1.5 billion for the full year 2018.
• The Center for North American Studies at Texas A&M University, estimated an annual loss of $1.17 billion.

“These estimates show that farmer losses from the tariffs will notably exceed $1 billion in 2018,” Mooney wrote. “Significant income losses will continue” if tariffs imposed by Mexico and China – two of the largest dairy export markets for the United States – remain in place.

Perdue has said a second trade mitigation payment to producers may be made this year, after additional calculations of farmer losses.

“We are eager to work with you on a plan that better reflects the struggles dairy producers across the country have faced due to the tariffs,” Mooney wrote. “Thank you for considering the critical implications of these trade challenges for us as dairy farmers and cooperative owners.”

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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.

The following news release was issued on Oct. 23, 2018, by the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

NAD Refers Advertising Claims by The a2 Milk Company for Further Review After Company Declines to Participate in NAD Proceeding

New York, NY – Oct. 23, 2018 – The National Advertising Division has referred advertising claims made by The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) for its a2 Milk product to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for further review, after the advertiser declined to participate in a review of its advertising claims, including claims that its product is “Easier on digestion” and “May help some avoid discomfort.”

NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. It is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureau.

The claims at issue were initially challenged by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF). The challenger maintained that a2MC falsely promises consumers that its product is “easier on digestion” as compared to conventional milk, and that consumers can “avoid digestive discomfort” and will “feel the difference.” The challenger also stated that a2MC falsely claims that conventional milk is likely to induce “painful bloating, wind, cramps, [gut] inflammation” and other uncomfortable symptoms.

According to NMPF, the research underlying a2MC’s claims contains errors in study design, methodology, and population selection and is unreliable and clinically insignificant.

The challenger argued that a2MC’s health claims and the scientific theory underlying its claims are unsupported and that the insufficiency of a2MC’s evidence has been acknowledged by governmental regulators including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), and the New Zealand Food Standards Authority (NZFSA).

The advertiser declined to participate in the NAD proceeding and asked NAD to administratively close the matter.

The advertiser noted that the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Milk and Dairy Food Safety Branch (CDFA), reviewed the advertiser’s substantiation for core claims critiqued in the NMPF’s Complaint and found that the claims appearing on the a2 Milk label complied with Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations and the California Food and Agriculture Code. a2MC further asserted that the claim, “Love milk again” is puffery.

Further, the advertiser maintained that NMPF’s challenge selectively presents incomplete and outdated research and observations made without the benefit of recent research, including irrelevant references to foreign regulatory review of prior unrelated claims.

NAD acknowledged the advertiser’s position, but noted that in light of the advertiser’s decision against participating in the self-regulatory forum, NAD has referred the matter to the FTC.

Note: A recommendation by NAD to modify or discontinue a claim is not a finding of wrongdoing and an advertiser’s voluntary discontinuance or modification of claims should not be construed as an admission of impropriety. It is the policy of NAD not to endorse any company, product, or service. Decisions finding that advertising claims have been substantiated should not be construed as endorsements.

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About Advertising Industry Self-Regulation:  The Advertising Self-Regulatory Council establishes the policies and procedures for advertising industry self-regulation, including the National Advertising Division (NAD), Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), National Advertising Review Board (NARB), Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP) and Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program (Accountability Program.) The self-regulatory system is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Self-regulation is good for consumers. The self-regulatory system monitors the marketplace, holds advertisers responsible for their claims and practices and tracks emerging issues and trends. Self-regulation is good for advertisers. Rigorous review serves to encourage consumer trust; the self-regulatory system offers an expert, cost-efficient, meaningful alternative to litigation and provides a framework for the development of a self-regulatory solution to emerging issues.

To learn more about supporting advertising industry self-regulation, please visit us at: www.asrcreviews.org.

After decades of NMPF efforts to halt misleading labeling of imitation dairy foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it’s opening a comment period this fall to review the marketing practices of plant-based foods.

“The FDA has concerns that the labeling of some plant-based products may lead consumers to believe that those products have the same key nutritional attributes as dairy products, even though these products can vary widely in their nutritional content,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb in the Sept. 27 announcement. “It is important that we better understand consumers’ expectations of these plant-based products compared to dairy products.”

The FDA comment docket is set to close just after Thanksgiving, but NMPF has requested an extension. The organization also plans to submit comments that will explain why the agency must enforce its own labeling regulations that limit the use of standardized dairy terms to products that come from an animal. NMPF also will provide its members and other dairy stakeholders information they can use to weigh in with FDA.

“We are pleased that after years of regulatory inertia, the FDA is now addressing our concerns about how these plant-based products are inappropriately marketed to consumers,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “The issues raised by this docket acknowledge many of the same concerns we’ve brought to light over the last four decades: that plant-based products are packaged, merchandized and sold in the same way as real dairy foods, yet provide fewer nutrients and therefore cannot be considered suitable substitutes.”

In addition to demonstrating the superior nutritional benefits of real milk, NMPF’s comments will show how a standardized dairy food – like milk, yogurt or butter — is defined by its inherent characteristics, including how and where it is sourced, its sensory attributes, and its performance properties.

The comment period comes after a July 26 FDA public meeting on government nutrition and labeling standards, during which NMPF also made its case for government action. Gottlieb said before the hearing that the agency will address deceptive marketing tactics, and recognized the issue needs greater clarity. He has said that plant-based copycats are not the foods that have been standardized under the name “milk” and often vary widely in their nutrition.

NMPF also submitted comments on another, but related issue: the regulation of foods produced using cell-culture technology. On Sept. 27, NMPF submitted comments to FDA on the issue, suggesting that another important factor be considered within the discussion: the agency’s willingness and ability to enforce its own existing standards of identity – on these new products as well as plant-based alternatives. The U.S. dairy industry could be affected by the use of genetically modified yeast to produce proteins that share a chemical identity with milk proteins, NMPF said.

National Milk recently announced several staff changes that will strengthen and expand NMPF’s services to its members and the nation’s dairy producer community.

Chris Galen, NMPF’s long-time head of communications, became the organization’s Senior Vice President of Member Services and Strategic Initiatives. He now works directly under Jim Mulhern within the Office of the President and CEO, strategizing, developing and executing services to members, associate members and allied dairy organizations.

Alan Bjerga, formerly a journalist with Bloomberg, joined NMPF as its new Senior Vice President of Communications. Bjerga spent 11 years at Bloomberg as its lead writer on national farm policy issues, covering high-visibility topics like the Farm Bill, agricultural trade policy and rural economics.

In his new role, Alan will lead NMPF’s communications efforts, focusing on media relations, marketing and digital storytelling.  Highlighting the importance of agriculture and the work of NMPF’s members to key audiences is a crucial task during a challenging time for the industry, Bjerga said.

“My work has long been focused on the well-being of rural communities, many of which depend on dairy,” Bjerga said. “It’s an honor to have this opportunity to serve farmers and their families in a new and compelling way.”

Mulhern also announced that Jaime Castaneda, NMPF’s long-time head of strategic initiatives and trade policy, is now its Senior Vice President of Policy Strategy and International Trade. In addition, Nicole Ayache joined National Milk earlier this fall as Director of Sustainability Initiatives. Prior to joining NMPF, Ayache worked as a consultant for the dairy industry’s animal care and sustainability program, Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM), as well as the Innovation Center for US Dairy.

“These organizational changes reflect our drive to expand service to our members in what has been a challenging time for dairy farmers,” said Mulhern. “We just entered our second century as an organization – and we’re not slowing down. Strengthening our team through these staff changes will ensure a strong and capable organization for years to come.”

On Oct. 2, the National Dairy FARM Program announced the launch of its fourth program area, FARM Workforce Development. The initiative provides U.S. dairy farm owners and managers with educational tools that offer best management practices around human resources – including hiring, training, and supervision – and worker health and safety.

The program’s newest silo was created by stakeholders from the entire dairy value chain to provide educational materials on one of the most pressing concerns for the dairy sector. The human resources part of the program focuses on how to best attract, invest in, and retain a professional, high-quality, engaged workforce.

The safety portion outlines how farms can further cultivate and demonstrate continuous commitment to on-farm safety. For the safety portion of the initiative, FARM is collaborating with the Idaho Dairymen’s Association (IDA) to develop a best-in-class safety resource for dairy farm owners and managers.

These new educational resources will help farmers who want to broaden their understanding and implementation of human resources tools and safety practices for their employees.

Over the last year, the FARM Program gathered expert and stakeholder input through its Workforce Development Task Force of farmers, cooperative staff, academics, and other subject matter experts. This reliance on stakeholder input ensures the Workforce Development materials are technically robust and relevant to today’s dairy industry.

The educational resources will provide farm owners with resources that can assist in increasing worker engagement, reducing employee turnover and enhancing the safety of dairy farming. Some of those resources will include: state-by-state and federal legal fact sheets. the FARM Human Resources Reference Manual and the FARM Safety Reference Manual.

The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program has announced the founding members of its inaugural Farmer Advisory Councils. These groups provide guidance and input for consideration into the FARM Program’s ongoing and future development.

These dairy producers represent diversity in farm management style, age, geographic location and cooperative/processor representation. With their council appointment, members are also considered ambassadors and liaisons for the FARM Program and will help with answering questions and championing the program within other organizations and their regional communities. Each council member will serve one, three-year term, and are expected to attend up to two in-person meetings per calendar year and two to four conference calls annually.

Members were selected by a committee comprised of members from the FARM Technical Writing Groups and FARM Program staff based on their ability to meet the outlined expectations. The 2018 group of council members include:

 

Agri-Mark	Nate Chittenden	NY
California Dairies Inc	Tony Louters	CA
Cayuga Marketing	Jeremy Brown	NY
Darigold	Dan DeGroot	WA
DFA	Brian Hardy	UT
First District Association	Duane Laveau	MN
Foremost Farms	Kristipher Scheider	WI
Grande Cheese Company	Sandy Larson	WI
Hilmar Cheese Company	Frank Dinis	CA
Land O’ Lakes	Stuart Hall	CA
Land O’ Lakes	Deb Reinhart	WI
Maryland Virginia	Jim Biddle	PA
Organic Valley	Leon Corse	VT
Select Milk Producers	Mike Visser	OH
Southeast Milk Inc.	Sutton Rucks	FL
Tillamook	Mike Prince	OR
United Dairymen of Arizona	Jim Boyle	AZ

 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit delivered two decisions on Sept. 24 that are consistent with NMPF’s comments regarding the Clean Water Act (CWA). Both decisions determined that the CWA does not extend to pollution that reaches surface waters via groundwater, reflecting a position NMPF also endorses.

In comments submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in May, NMPF stated: “The bottom line is that Congress did not include the regulation of groundwater in the CWA and neither the courts, nor EPA, should extend the CWA beyond what Congress intended.”

The comments noted that “Congress discussed the inclusion of groundwater in the CWA and chose not to. EPA should make it clear via a regulation, that groundwater directly, indirectly, hydrologically connected or not is not subject to regulation under the CWA and should retract any and all past statements to the contrary.”

NMPF reminded EPA of the fiasco it created when it kept re-interpreting what constituted “oil” under the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Rule. Initially, it did not apply to dairy, but over a decade EPA said it also applied to butter, then higher-fat dairy products, then ice cream and ultimately fat-free milk. Eventually, dairy was exempted. However, it is becoming clear that the courts and EPA are allowing the same scenario to unfold today.

NMPF agrees with the court that groundwater pollution is best dealt with under state and local laws and, where necessary, under the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA). There are now two Courts of Appeals that took NMPF’s position, and several against, with more cases pending.

In less than a month, hundreds of U.S. dairy community leaders will descend upon Phoenix, Arizona, to attend one of the largest dairy conferences in the country: the 2018 NDB/NMPF/UDIA Joint Annual Meeting. To register for this year’s event, please click here.

Held Oct. 29-31 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge hotel, this year’s meeting will again feature presentations on the strategies and programs managed by the dairy policy and promotion organizations that help U.S. dairy pursue opportunities for growth and prosperity. This year, the event will celebrate those who are “undeniably devoted to dairy.” From the breakfast table to the electricity that powers homes, the meeting will honor those who are undeniably devoted to making dairy for the world’s consumers.

This year’s program will again include NMPF’s annual Town Hall event, in which attendees will hear about the latest in dairy policy and ask questions of those representing them in Washington. Georgia farmer Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau, will address the group, and panels of co-op and producer leaders will discuss the state of the dairy sector in 2018 and what various organizations are doing to help dairy farmers. This year’s keynote speaker is noted political analyst Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report (pictured left), providing an outlook on the November elections set to take place one week after the meeting.

The ever-popular Dairy Bar returns this year, featuring exhibits, games and goodies from NMPF Associate Members and Dairy Management Inc. partners. Attendees can also enjoy the fan-favorite Cheese Reception, featuring the winners of NMPF’s annual cheese contest.