See you latte! Country Women's Association declares war on almond milk and other plant-based drinks because they 'confuse consumers'
- Country Women's Association unanimously voted for a new motion on Tuesday
- The motion states 'plant based products' should not label their products as milk
- It argues it's confusing for consumers and it's injuring the diary farming industry
- If passed, the motion will impact products such as almond, soy, and rice milk
The Country Women's Association (CWA) has declared war on manufactures who label 'plant-based' drinks as milk - claiming it's injuring the dairy farm industry and confusing for members of the public.
On Tuesday, the women's body unanimously voted in favour for the motion to lobby the state and federal authorities to 'enforce a legislation' which would prevent 'plant-based drinks from using the term milk' when it comes to labelling products.
The motion was passed during the annual New South Wales CWA conference.
If put into practice it would heavily impact products such as soy, almond and rice 'milk' - all of which are popular alternatives to traditional diary milk.
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(File picture) The Country Women's Association (CWA) has declared war on manufactures who label 'plant-based' drinks as milk
In the motion, submitted by the Morpeth Branch of the Hunter River Group, it said consumers were 'confused' about the 'nutritional benefits of cows' milk' in comparison to 'plant-based' alternatives.
'Fresh milk is a premium quality, short shelf-life food of immense nutritional value that has for generations been a fundamental pillar of the Australian rural and regional economies and communities,' the motion read, The Daily Telegraph reported.
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'Dairy Connect, the Dairy Industry Advocate Group believes that there is confusion among the consumers, some of whom equate the nutritional benefits of cows' milk with that of the plant-based drink alternatives.
'There is a need for us to take a stand for a product our dairy farmers work so hard to produce,' the motion concluded.
The CWA is the biggest women's organisation in the country, with a total of around 44,000 members
Morpeth Branch president Dianne Innes said she hoped the vote would be a 'big support' to dairy farmers.
It's understood a CWA executive will reach out to the state Agriculture Minister, Adam Marshall, in upcoming weeks.
The motion could impact products such as soy, almond and rice 'milk'
A spokesperson for the Dietitians Association said almond and rice milk did not contain as much calcium as cow's milk.
However the spokesperson said fortified soy milk did have the same nutritional benefits as dairy milk.
She also added if a person was considering cutting out food groups they need to know how to get the same 'nutritional needs' from alternative options.
A motion to prevent 'inaccurate' labelling of non-meat products as meat was also passed.
The CWA is the biggest women's organisation in the country, with a total of around 44,000 members.
The organisations aim is to improve the conditions of the country for women and children.
