Miyoko’s victory against dairy lobby bullying was led by women

Meaningful victories against the powerful meat and dairy lobbies are rare, so when they happen we should stop and celebrate them, and give credit to those who got us there.

This week, a federal judge allowed common sense to prevail in a First Amendment legal challenge brought by Miyoko’s against the state of California over the brand’s use of the word “butter” on its vegan products. This article in Food Navigator is a good explainer of the decision.

I want to focus on how we got here, as there is often a backstory that doesn’t get told.

I want to focus on how we got here, as there is often a backstory that doesn’t get told. It’s the story of several women, in addition to Miyoko herself, who deserve credit for this critical victory that benefits the entire plant-based foods industry.

Early Attacks

Before California formally went after Miyoko’s butter in 2019, numerous other brands were bullied. Through my legal practice, I teamed up with my colleague Lauren Handel (Handel Food Law) to represent several of these brands over the years. Because most attorneys are too busy doing the work to crow about it, I want to shine a light on Lauren’s important work.

Lauren is a brilliant attorney who has worked tirelessly on behalf of brands that have been unfairly targeted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). I have trusted her completely in representing companies that I have relationships with.

Her hard work in communicating (e.g., calling, writing letters, filing petitions) with the state of California has had a significant influence on CDFA. Often this work requires delicate diplomacy with regulators when your client wants to find a peaceful solution. Lauren has been an extremely effective advocate, navigating numerous challenging disputes.

Another attorney deserving of credit is Rebecca Cross (Greenfare Law). She has also been working on these issues for years and is extremely knowledgeable and effective. For example, in 2019 Miyoko’s butter was incredibly pulled off of some store shelves in Wisconsin over that state’s outdated, dairy-lobby favored laws. Over time, Rebecca navigated a series of communications with Wisconsin’s regulators to work things out.

Often, an attorney’s work does not grab headlines, but the outcome is still important.

Often, an attorney’s work is not sexy enough to grab headlines, but the outcome is still important, both for the immediate situation and client, and in the longer term for an entire industry and set of issues. Rebecca work in Wisconsin is an important component of the broader and longer-term victory for the entire plant-based foods industry.

(It's also notable that neither of these women work at large corporate law firms. Instead, they started their own firms to be able to focus on their passion, which is inspirational. You can watch a legal rights panel at the 2019 Plant Based World event that I organized with both Lauren and Rebecca as experts on these issues here.)

Brave enough to sue

Back to California. While most brands getting attacked by the state over labeling were willing to push back in certain ways, none were willing to go as far as taking the state to court. Until Miyoko’s.

While most brands getting attacked by the state over labeling were willing to push back, none were willing to go as far as taking the state to court. Until Miyoko’s.

Most people in the vegan movement and plant-based foods industry know Miyoko Schinner for being an outspoken and passionate ambassador and leader. And of course, her brand is known for taking vegan cheese and butter to a new level. But being willing to sue the state of California? That’s a very big deal, and few are willing to take on the risks. Often because the company’s board won’t allow it. Corporate boards tend to be rather conservative. One brand I worked with had a large, well-known food company investor and the idea of suing was rejected by the board. The larger the corporation, the more risk adverse they are.

Sometimes it’s a question of money; litigation can be extremely costly. But mostly brands simply don’t want the publicity of looking too “aggressive”. In other words, it’s a political calculus. A brand would rather make some compromises on their principles than take a chance on damaging their reputation by not “playing nice” with regulators or appearing "negatively" in the press.

Miyoko Schinner is someone for whom this thinking does not apply. Quite the opposite: she puts her principles first and lets the chips fall where they may. Her company’s board also deserves a lot of credit for backing Miyoko up on this decision. Just as importantly, Miyoko did not take this stand just for her own brand, she did it for the entire industry. Because it was the right thing to do. And of course, she was right. Her brand also got a lot of positive press as a result. This is leadership in action that we should recognize and applaud.

Legal Warrior

The last women I want to recognize is my friend and attorney colleague, Amanda Howell, who led the team at the Animal Legal Defense Fund to this victory on behalf of Miyoko's. (Kudos to ALDF and co-counsel Gupta?Wessler for offering pro-bono legal services.)

I have known Amanda for years since she worked at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. She later went into private practice, and we collaborated on a few fun class action cases suing large food corporations for deceptive marketing practices. Since landing at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, she has been applying her deep knowledge of food regulations and litigation with her passion for vegan causes. Amanda has played a key role in numerous lawsuits over the labeling of plant-based foods, including legal challenges to laws in Missouri and Arkansas.

For example, Amanda deserves credit for the critical legal victory in late 2019 when a federal judge halted enforcement of a “meat labeling” bill in Arkansas on First Amendment grounds. While this case was in another district, judges certainly pay attention to decisions around the nation so it likely had a huge influence on the victory in California.

Of course, many men have played supporting roles in all the above; I certainly don’t mean to say that only women have done this work. However, when press releases only quote the white male executive director of organizations, as this one from ALDF did this week, it’s important to go deeper to give credit where it is due.

When press releases only quote the white male executive director, it’s important to go deeper to give credit where it is due.

Full Circle

Finally, I have a special place in my heart for this victory. I have known Miyoko Schinner for many years; we ran into each other in the fall of 2014 at an event at Millennium, a lovely vegan restaurant in San Francisco. She shared with me how the state of California was giving her a hard time over using word “cheese” to describe her new line of cashew-based products. As the founder of a small start-up company, she could not afford to fight a strong regulatory agency.

My reaction? “That’s dumb. We should form a trade group. That’s what trade groups do; they fight stupid laws”. And that’s exactly what I did. With Miyoko as a founding board member, the Plant Based Foods Association was launched in 2016, and would over the next five years that I was its leader, fight the meat and dairy lobbies in numerous labeling battles. (Miyoko and I both left PBFA in December 2020.) ?

So, let’s all give thanks to Miyoko, Amanda, Lauren, and Rebecca, and the many other women who work hard behind the scenes to stand up for what’s right, and don’t get enough credit. They inspire me and give me hope for a better future. Speaking of inspiration, you can watch Miyoko herself celebrate with a fun "butter victory dance" here.

?Michele Simon is a public health attorney, author, and founder and former executive director of the Plant Based Foods Association.

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