Oatly banned from using word ‘milk’ to market plant-based products in UK

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/11/oatly-banned-from-using-word-milk-to-market-plant-based-products-in-uk

Posted by pajamakitten

42 Comments

  1. Don’t know about anyone else but I have never been deceived into buying a milk alternative. I always knew I was not getting cow’s milk, which was pretty much the whole bloody point of buying the alternative.

  2. Ridiculous decision. I assume coconut milk will be renamed as well to avoid the poor poor consumer being duped.

  3. “Milk” has been used to describe milk like plant juices since the 1200s, long before a modern English speaker would even be able to understand an English speaker of the time. As long as modern English has been around the word “milk” has been used in this way.

    This is a patently absurd ruling that just goes to show how corrupt the UK legal system is. If you grease enough palms you can get the English language legally changed from a near thousand year tradition.

    Wið weartan genim þysse ylcan wyrte meolc & clufþungan wos, do to þære weartan.

  4. That’s it boys, the boomers have finally defeated “The Woke” anf “The Oatmilkerati”… they’ll be back to reminiscing about the 60s and whatever in no time

  5. MilkyCowTits1312 on

    Doesn’t this open the door to all kinds of nonsense with things like ‘sausage’ or ‘(mushroom or whatever) steak’, ‘mince’, etc?

  6. ImFamousYoghurt on

    Will milk bottle sweets be renamed?

    I could understand a bit more if their brand name was “From A Real Cow” but their brand name literally has “Oat” in it

  7. FlaviousTiberius on

    Sent the wife out to get some milk and she came back with this woke vogon oat nonsense, I was absolutely fuming. Glad I won’t have to beat her again over this now that this has been sorted.

  8. LauraPhilps7654 on

    Without looking I’m going to assume the dairy milk lobby had a role in this.

    Edit: yep, trade association Dairy UK.

    >Dairy UK and the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) act as the primary lobbyists for the UK dairy sector, focusing on promoting industry sustainability, influencing policy on trade and environmental issues, and protecting dairy’s image against plant-based alternatives.

  9. Oh man, finally.

    You wouldn’t believe the number of times I’ve read the label wrong, got my tin opener out and accidentally spooned coconut milk into my tea. It completely ruins it having the thicker part just floating there, not what you get with proper milk at all.

    Hopefully those idiots at Blue Dragon are next, can’t believe how long they’ve been getting away with this.

  10. To save confusion I’m going to set up a petition to rename “milk” as bovine mammary gland juice.

  11. I get that its not technically milk but I dont really no how else to accurately describe the liquid

    “Oat drink” sounds like it could be an oat flavoured water. I know what im getting with oat milk or almond milk

  12. And yet people will call it oatmilk… this does nothing but change the branding. Colloquially it is already oat milk

  13. Substantial-Bed8167 on

    The dairy board chair is called Oates!!

    I would like milk to be renamed subsidised cow juice, makes it clear we are all paying for Dr Judith Bryans and her friends lifestyle with our taxes even if we don’t drink cow milk

  14. If your whole argument is that it’s not milk then ‘post milk generation’ is actually just more accurate.

    What kinda dunces do we have in the courts these days seriously.

  15. love me some Oat Melk, Oat Mulk, Oat Molk 😆 people are still gonna call it Oat Milk let’s be real, this is so dumb

  16. QuantumToast92 on

    It’s stupid but they’re just wasting money paying off whoever they paid for this ruling. People who don’t want to drink cows milk will continue not to drink cows milk.

  17. Hawley-Gryphon on

    This is old news isn’t it? They’ve all been calling it oat drink for ages. Doesn’t matter though, that’s not what people actually call it anyway. I love oat milk. I would never ask a barista for a latte with oat drink. 😂

  18. Any_Association405 on

    It’s not going to stop me buying non dairy milk alternatives, but it’s very telling how powerful lobby groups don‘t want alternatives to the destructive and wasteful dairy industry. The Government are keen on curtailing people from smoking and drinking alcohol, with the excuse of less burden on the NHS. If they really cared about public health they would be heavily encouraging a diet with reduced meat and dairy consumption

  19. Who actually gives a shit about stuff like this? What are we calling it instead? Oat juice?

    Country’s in the shit because we sit around focusing on bollocks like this

  20. Guess they’d better start pulling all those creme and Easter eggs off the shelves too eh?

  21. Speaking as someone who drinks dairy milk, I have never once been duped into buying plant milk. The market for the product is people who don’t drink dairy, so it would go against the producers’ interest not to clearly label it.

    Do people think there’s some shady conspiracy trying to trick them into becoming vegan or something? Like, “Oh no, I ignored everything on this carton except the word ‘milk,’ now I’m going to have to become a hippie and live on a commune!”

  22. CodeToManagement on

    Good news tbh I’m sick of products masquerading as things they aren’t.

    Just last week I went to the supermarket and they had soy or oat milk. Not sure what breed of cows soy or oat are but I figured it’s just some single source artisanal type thing so I bought one of each. Can you believe neither came from cows????

    And so then obviously I was in a pinch with no milk. Had a coconut in the kitchen though and I hear they have milk inside. No idea how the cows do that but hey when you’re in a bind anything will do.

    Anyway I looked like a right idiot when I cracked it open and it was basically water!!

    Anyways hopefully today is looking up. Off to try my vegan sausages, they look good and meaty……….

  23. I buy Oatley every week (I have 3 cartons in my fridge right now) and genuinely didn’t even know they claimed to be milk. If you asked me it it says “milk” on the side I genuinely couldn’t tell you. When people buy this, they know it’s not milk lol

  24. ComicsCodeMadeMeGay on

    So when I was a kid, my dad would open up a coconut he got from the shop and ask if I wanted to drink coconut milk…. So the idea that milk HAS to mean dairy sounds stupid as hell

  25. Adorable-Fault-5116 on

    Such a silly, pyrrhic victory. No one was confused, but now we do all know the milk lobby are a bunch of scared babies.

  26. 99thLuftballon on

    This is a bizarre ruling. For those who didn’t read the article, it’s based around the use of the phrase “Post-Milk Generation” on Oatly’s packaging. So, they’re not even claiming to be milk – they’re claiming to be what replaces milk, which I think is a reasonable claim given that it’s exactly what they do.

  27. Unusual_Wind_7270 on

    This is so stupid. What should be banned is the diary industry lobbying government into doing this dumb shit.

  28. So will this be the same for all the non-cow alternatives . If oats can’t make milk then I’m fairly sure rice cant