If you thought common sense was making a comeback in 2026, I have some bad news for you.
Today, the UK Supreme Court handed down a final verdict in the long-running, and frankly exhausting, battle between Swedish oat drink maker Oatly and the powerful dairy lobby, Dairy UK. The unanimous ruling is that Oatly has lost the right to trademark their slogan “Post Milk Generation” for their food and drink products.
Why? Because apparently, the highest court in the land agrees with the dairy industry that the word “milk” is far too confusing for us mere mortals to handle unless it comes directly from an animal’s udder.
The legal basis for this decision rests on the idea that using “milk” terminology for plant-based products is misleading. The Justices argued that the phrase “Post Milk Generation” did not clearly describe the product’s characteristic (i.e. being dairy-free) and might leave poor, bewildered shoppers wondering if the carton contained no milk or just a little bit of milk.
I’m sorry, but do they take us for idiots?
This ruling is a victory for pedantry over reality. It is a desperate cling to outdated definitions championed by an industry terrified of changing consumer habits.
Let’s apply this “confusion” logic elsewhere in the supermarket aisle, shall we?
When I buy fish fingers, I am fully aware that I am not purchasing actual anatomical digits harvested from cod.
When I buy baby oil, I do not assume it is made from babies.
When someone buys a veggie burger, nobody, and I mean nobody, is distressed to find a lack of ground beef inside.
We know that oat milk is squeezed from oats. We know almond milk comes from almonds. We get it. The only people who seem “confused” are the lobbyists running Dairy UK and the lawyers arguing these semantics.
Oatly’s response hit the nail on the head. Bryan Carroll, their UK general manager, called this what it is: a move to “stifle competition” that “solely benefits Big Dairy.”
We are living in a time where shifting toward more plant-based diets is crucial for ethical and environmental sustainability. We need to be encouraging these swaps, making them accessible and appealing. Instead, we are wasting years and untold amounts of money in court debating whether the word “milk” can be used to describe a creamy, white liquid that you put on your cereal, just because it didn’t involve a cow.
The dairy industry is fighting a losing battle against cultural shifts. Trying to fence off common language through legal action will not stop people from choosing sustainable alternatives. It just makes the industry look petty and out of touch.
The courts might say we are not a “Post Milk Generation” yet, but the consumers already know where the future lies, regardless of what the label is allowed to say.