The current (final?) battle for milk
The worldwide initiative to remove real milk from our diets
Recent Investments
The multibillion dollar race to replace dairy has only heated up in recent years, as “precision fermentation” has made it possible to closely replicate the proteins, fats, and sugars in milk.
The US now has two “cultured milk” companies that have received GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status from the FDA.
This is not some far off futurist fantasy - this is happening now. Lab-grown dairy components are being mixed together and sold across the world.
“TurtleTree Raises $30 Million In Series A To Expedite Full Commercialization Of Cell-Based Milk” (2021)
“Israeli Firm BioMilk Is World’s First Culture Milk Company to Go Public” (2021)
“Perfect Day Raises $350 Million … ” (2021)
“Pascual Innoventures announces 2022 Mylkcubator cohort to develop milk of the future” (2022)
“All G Foods Raises $25M to Make Cultivated Milk “Cheaper to Buy Than Cow-Based Dairy” (2022)
“NotMilk is Not Milk, but AI Says it Tastes Just Like It” (2023)
So how did we get to a point where milk products from animals are potentially replaceable, and who stands to win and lose in this possible paradigm shift?
Click here if you want to go straight to the discussion on the new synthetic milks.
Raw Milk
I am passionate about raw milk. I drink it nearly every day. I live in Ankara, Turkey and have easy access to fresh and raw cow, buffalo, goat, and sheep milks.
My readers from outside the United States might be surprised to hear that buying raw milk can be difficult in “the land of the free”. In Oregon, you legally have to join private clubs with farmers in order to buy raw milk. In Florida, raw milk must be clearly labeled “for pet consumption”, and the state has conducted sting operations to prosecute people who merely talk about humans consuming it. In 2011, police in California raided an organic foods cooperative, forcefully ejected the people who were there, and then proceeded to immediately destroy thousands of dollars worth of raw milk.
Why do I bring up the case of raw milk in the United States? Because it is a case of an in-demand product being banned “for our safety”. It shows how governments can devote resources to punishing people for making the wrong eating decisions.
Mass Milk Production Today
In the United States, almost all milk is sold by farmers to cooperatives, who in turn sell the milk to processors. The number of dairy farmers has monotonically dropped, with the Census of Agriculture showing a reduction from 111,825 dairy operations (in 1995) to 40,219 (in 2017). Both farmers and cooperatives have had to consolidate.
In Canada, the Canadian Dairy Commission runs “Milk Boards”, and they are responsible for managing the supply and marketing of the country’s milk.
Despite high milk prices for consumers, and the increased demand for organic milk, the number of dairy farmers continues to drop. Everyone I know in the industry has struggled.
Whether it is feed costs, labor shortages, new policies, celebrity slander, or any other thing, almost every farmer I talk to feels like it is “death by a thousand cuts”.
Fake Milk 1.0
Real milk producers have initiated countless lawsuits around the world against producers beverages that are alternatives to milk. They argue that the term “milk” should be reserved for what is produced by animals, and that using the term “milk” to describe highly processed drinks made from soy, rice, almond, hemp, oats, and other ingredients is damaging to their industry.
These products mimic milk by creating blends of sugars, fats, and proteins that can feel similar to real milk, albeit in some limited domain. With the help of emulsifiers (such as canola oil) and innovative thickeners (like xanthan gum, gellan gum, algae, and carrageenan), products like Oatly can even be steamed and used in coffee drinks, or frozen and whipped to make a simulacrum of ice cream.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and various courts have gone back and forth on this subject.
In 2018, the Ninth Court of Appeals dismissed a class action lawsuit that was brought against the Almond Breeze company who market their drink as “almond milk”.
In 2018, the FDA issued a statement where it pledged to avoid customers being deceived by products that emulate milk but contain none (like coconut-based pseudo-yogurts that come in similar containers to yogurt). Some lawyers tried to raise First Amendment objections and claimed that forbidding manufacturers from using the term “milk” for something that isn’t milk violated their right to free speech.
In February of 2023, the FDA issued new guidance that allowed brands to refer to their plant and nut substitutes as “milks”.
Similar cases have been litigated around the world, so you can see names like “almondmilk”, “almond drink”, or “almond beverage” to all refer to the same thing.
The New Cellular Synthetic Milks
A number of companies are working on creating traditional milk components (fats, sugars, and proteins) using processes like “precision fermentation” or “cellular agriculture”.
The fats in milk include triglycerides, milk lipids, cholesterol, phospholipids, and free fatty acids. Altogether, there are over 400 fatty acids in cow milk.
The sugars in milk include lactose, galactose, glucose, and many oligosaccharides.
The proteins in milk include kappa-casein (Κ-casein) and the whey proteins (alpha-lactalbumins (α-lactalbumins), beta-lactoglobulin (β-lactoglobulin), bovine serum albumin, immunoglobulins, and proteose-peptones)1.
These companies create these components and then mix them together to create something that they claim to be actual milk.
Perfect Day is a Bay Area company that uses precision fermentation to create the same proteins as milk. A press release says their “whey protein is a flora-based replication of the bovine-based β-lactoglobulin protein. It is made from the fermentation of the genetically modified trichoderma reesei yeast strain. After the yeast ferments, the protein is extracted via the aid of a centrifuge and then combined with water and fat to create a milk-like product for use in dairy products.”
The founders (Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi) described their product as a “more climate-proof, future-proof way of creating nutrition that’s reliable for people”.
They are primarily targeting the B2B market. They currently sell a whey protein powder and an ice cream. Milk powder is commonly used in Indian foods, and they recently acquired a giant facility in India.
Despite the onerous restrictions on raw milk producers, the USDA was quick to give Perfect Day a positive Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS).
This is not a faraway nuclear fusion-esque thing for US customers.
The convergence of capital, celebrity backing, science, infrastructure, and ESG minded governments means that the race to replace milk is happening now.
But is it milk?
The Israeli company “Remilk” emphatically describes themselves as “the real deal”. They are “Real dairy. No cows”. However, they produce a product without cholesterol. Is it accurate or right for them to claim that they are “identical to traditional dairy”?
On their main website, they claim that, “dairy crafted Remilk's way is healthy and clean, with no cholesterol, lactose, hormones, and antibiotics – just 100% yum without the scum! It’s identical in taste, requires a fraction of the resources and is 100% cruelty-free. Holy cow!”
On their career page, they say, “At Remilk, we’re on a mission to introduce a new generation of real dairy - cleaner, healthier, and so much better for our planet, without a single cow!”
Those with a sharp eye will notice that Remilk prefers to use the word “dairy” rather than “milk” on their website. On Brave Robot’s page, they also use the term “dairy”.
Remilk recently received a self-affirmed Generally Regarded As Safe status from the FDA. According to Quality Smart Solutions, “with self-affirmed GRAS, a company convenes a panel of professionals to evaluate the safety of a specific ingredient and then informs the FDA (through a “GRAS Notification”) of their findings. With self-affirmation, the FDA then evaluates the information provided in the GRAS notification and responds to the company with their decision on whether or not they agree with the basis of GRAS determination”2.
These companies make bold claims and have no qualms about sowing FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) about the rest of the industry. They repeatedly insinuate in public posts that milk from animals is unhealthy, dirty, and damages the planet3.
Wilk, an Israeli company that received a patent in the United States for their “cell-based milk production methods and systems”, has a url, www.wilkismilk.com, that directly claims that their product is indeed, “milk”.
For them to be this brash, a huge amount of the funding for these companies must be going to lawyers.
Just like in the last decade, it will be up to litigation to determine what things can be sold as “milk” or “dairy”.
“Cows are the new coal”
We will hear this line repeated ad nauseum until jurisdictions outright ban animal agriculture, as they are currently doing to internal combustion engines.
In some areas, the ban might not even be explicit, but increases in costs, new environmental legislation, etc will likely prove to be the straws that break the camel’s back. They can functionally make real dairy products unprofitable and onerous to sell without outright outlawing it.
When I lived near Seattle, I made a point to find, visit, and consume local dairy. There were only a few producers remaining within an hour drive of me, but it was still comforting to see that milk was produced by real people who were near me.
“Milk” made in bioreactors represents a huge centralization of a big part of human nutrition. And before it is even released to the public, we see that companies, like Remilk, are already subtracting components that we expect to find in milk.
If you work in the dairy industry, are interested in discussing litigation efforts, or are simply concerned about the future of food, please reach out or book a consultation so we can discuss your options.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/bovine-milk-protein
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I think that farmers who regenerate the land should take exception to this