# Constitution be damned, the FDA is moving ahead to ban almond milk (so says the washington examiner) \[Note just the word milk is being banned\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 21, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046 "2022-08-21T20:01:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/181 "2022-08-28T15:11:11Z")
The first thing I did when we bought our house many years ago was to remove the grass and plant other ground covers, shrubs, and plants instead. There’s one section that’s over a spring and is sometimes damp. It’s got plants that want wet feet. There’s another section that’s hot and dry all summer. It’s a mix of native and Mediterranean xeroculture. The garden has raised beds with targeted irrigation so we’re not watering unplanted areas. There are herbs and artichokes planted throughout. We have no lawn at all. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/182 "2022-08-28T16:28:10Z")
Hmm, i live in the northeast, which is generally good lawn climate. I have experimented with a number of ground covers, and given up on most of them because it’s too much work to keep them from being overrun with grass. I don’t want to do that much weeding. So now i mostly grow lawn, except for some trees, shrubs, and ornamentals that I’m willing to care for. Currently, a big patch of my “lawn” is mostly dust, because we are in the middle of a drought. But when the autumn rains come, i plan to reseed in lawn grasses and clover. (The shady parts of my lawn are still reasonably healthy, although they are brownish because they are mostly dormant. Those parts will green up on their own when it rains, with no care on my part.) I’m certainly not advocating lawns in dry climates. But i was surprised at how hard it was to prevent random patches of ground from turning into lawn around here. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/183 "2022-08-28T19:49:51Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Hmm, i live in the northeast, which is generally good lawn climate. I have experimented with a number of ground covers, and given up on most of them because it’s too much work to keep them from being overrun with grass. I don’t want to do that much weeding. Right, it doesn’t make sense to have lawns in the southwest, where you need to spend precious water to keep them alive. In the twenty plus years I’ve lived in my house, the only times I’ve ever watered was when I was growing new grass after construction turned a part of my yard into mud. Sometimes it turns a bit brown in the summer, but that just means I don’t need to cut it. It comes back just fine when the rain returns. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/184 "2022-08-28T23:41:48Z")
It’s just the commercial rivalry between Big Dairy and Big Nut. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/185 "2022-08-28T23:59:26Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > And soy milk is soybean flavored milk. You mean it isn’t just milk with soy sauce? Damn, I’ve been doing this wrong all along?! No wonder it tasted so weird… ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/186 "2022-08-29T01:26:32Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > It’s just the commercial rivalry between Big Dairy and Big Nut. To extend the anatomic pun … big udder and big nut? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/187 "2023-02-22T22:03:14Z")
> **[Soy, oat and almond drinks can still be called milk, US regulators say](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/22/soy-oat-almond-milk-fda-us-regulators)** > > FDA says consumers are not confused if plant-based drinks use the term, after dairy producers call for crackdown on labeling “Under the draft rules, the agency recommends that beverage makers label their products clearly by the plant source of the food, such as soy milk or cashew milk. The rules also call for voluntary extra nutrition labels that note when the drinks have lower levels of nutrients than dairy milk, such as calcium, magnesium or vitamin D.” To me a nutrition label is a nutrition label. The article doesn’t really go into the “voluntary” or “extra” requirements for the additional label. To me, just list it in the existing nutrition information and we’re good to go. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2023, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/188 "2023-02-22T22:19:30Z")
probably saying something like “this product dosent doesn’t provide the USDA recommended allowance of ” which you see on ridiculous things like soda candy etc that never had then in the first place ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/189 "2023-02-23T00:55:17Z")
IMHO, the vast amount of water used by almonds in CA (something around 10% or so of the total water used), plus the damage the monoculture of non native plants do to the environment, not to mention spraying- means **let us ban the selling of Almond “milk”.** There are better alternatives anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/190 "2023-02-23T00:59:54Z")
That’s funny they’re wording it that way. I was under the impression that the various plant-based sbustitutes for dairy milk had more nutrients than dairy milk. But, of course, they’re wording it that way. It’s not going to change and just putting that statement out there for public consumption is not being done with the intent to get a real change done. This is done to show how the ineffable _they_ are mucking around with your food and how the 'pubbies are here to protect you. I’m with you on the status of the nutrition label. Actually, my wife (who majored in nutrition) doesn’t like my take on it: Monty: Of course the Twinkies are nutritious! Wife: What? No, they’re not. Monty: Look at the Twinky box. It has a nutrition label. That means they’re nutritious. Wife: {Walks away, shaking her head} ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/191 "2023-02-23T19:36:21Z")
Here is how things would have gone if I was in charge. **Dairy Industry:** Consumers are confusing products like “oat milk”, “soy milk”, and “almond milk” with our products, which causes a problem when people don’t realize they aren’t the same as dairy milk. **FDA:** That is a great point and your concern is warranted. Therefore, you must now label your product as “cow milk” so that you are being less ambiguous with your labeling than your non-dairy competition. Problem solved! Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046/192 "2023-02-24T01:07:22Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I was under the impression that the various plant-based sbustitutes for dairy milk had more nutrients than dairy milk. Not so much- it varies- > **[How well do plant based alternatives fare nutritionally compared to cow’s milk?](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5756203/)** > > Due to the issues like lactose intolerance and milk allergy arising from the consumption of cow’s milk, there has been an increased demand in the plant based alternative milks around the world. Food industry has addressed these demands by introducing... _Overall, the review outlines the nutritional differences among various plant based alternative milks and cow’s milk. It is quite clear that nutritionally soy milk is the best alternative for replacing cow’s milk in human diet. But, various issues including the ‘beany flavor’ and presence of anti-nutrients are major hurdles which encouraged people to look for more alternatives like almond milk, etc., Though, almond milk also has a balanced nutrient profile and much better flavor, the nutrient density and the total number of calories are not as rich as that of cow’s milk. Hence, when consuming almond milk care should be taken that various essential nutrients are available through other sources in the diet in appropriate quantities. Rice milk and coconut milk cannot act as an ideal alternative for cow’s milk because of limited nutrient diversity, but they are the options for consumers that are allergic to soybeans and/or almonds_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constitution-be-damned-the-fda-is-moving-ahead-to-ban-almond-milk-so-says-the-washington-examiner-note-just-the-word-milk-is-being-banned/970046.md?page=9)