Wisconsin, known for its dairy farms, recently told retail food stores to remove any product that didn't comply with the statutory definition of butter, which requires that it be made from milk or cream.
Today, her products are sold in 12,000 stores across the U.S. Sales are booming, Schinner said, citing growth of 168% last year. Her company now makes a whole line of dairy-free products, including versions of chèvre, cream cheese, mozzarella, roadhouse cheese — and Schinner’s No. 1 product: butter. Entrepreneurs such as Schinner have been riding a wave of popularity for plant-based products, especially dairy alternatives. Plant-based milk retail sales totaled $1.8 billion for the year ending May 25, a 6.5% increase, according to data from Nielsen. Cheese substitute sales totaled $117 million, showing 17.4% growth. Cashew butters were up to $12.6 million, representing an uptick of 4.9%.
Such dire circumstances have led some in the dairy industry, most notably lobbying groups like the National Milk Producers Federation, to campaign against alternative dairy products — specifically their use of dairy terms on labels. Changing consumer tastes are regularly cited as a chief cause of dairy’s slow demise, but vegan products using labels such as “milk” — or, in this case, “butter” — are seen by the milk lobby as misleading consumers to unfairly steal market share.
States have been considering legislation of their own. The Plant Based Foods Assn. counts 10 that have tried or are trying to limit sales of dairy alternative products. Wisconsin, however, has tried taking a slightly different tack — at least when it comes to butter imitators. It ordered supermarkets to take any non-dairy product labeled “butter” off of its shelves.
The memo, which cited other non-dairy products, including one from Upfield brands, came in response to industry complaints about Miyoko’s Kitchen, according to copies of emails to state regulators.
As long as it isn't palm oil. Which most is. The problem is there are too many humans. Stop breeding ffs.
You lost me at Big Dairy. Most dairy farms I know of are bankrupt here in Missouri. Sold their operations to the New Zealanders 10-15 years ago, later to the Irish.
Well duh neither is margarine.
That’s right 👏👏 and did they say vegan butter is better for you?
big dary is automatically biased enough to pay off researchers, but I still love real butter.
I'm not gonna trust businesses that violently and needlessly abuse animals
We're still going to call it butter even if it doesn't say it on the label. Dairy biz will never be as big as it was because people are finally catching on that it isn't supposed to be consumed in such large quantities as we've been led to believe.
Vegan butter is very processed.
What if former cow owners got together to make great alternative products too
Oh, gee, we like it that way. 💎
Duh
But what is butter, actually?
They're right: 'real' dairy is full of puss, antibiotics, and hormones.
No shit? That's, like, the whole point.
No shit