PETA Petitions FDA to Add Cancer Warning Label to Dairy to Protect Consumers and Cows

For Immediate Release:
April 25, 2024

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Because numerous studies indicate that the consumption of dairy is linked to an increased risk of suffering or dying from prostate, breast, and ovarian cancer, PETA submitted a petition for rulemaking to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today urging the federal agency to issue a regulation requiring a warning label for milk and other dairy items.

“Dairy’s association with deadly cancers should prompt regulators to require warning labels for dairy foods, just as they do for cigarettes,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is calling on the FDA to alert consumers to dairy’s link to diseases so people have information they need to make healthy and humane food choices—and we have free downloadable vegan starter kits for everyone ready to make the switch.” 

PETA’s petition points to studies showing that consuming just one serving of cow’s milk per day—one-third of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ recommended daily intake—increases cancer risk. For example, one prospective study published in the International Journal of Cancer found that women who consumed one or more glasses of dairy milk per day had a 55% increased risk of the most common type of ovarian cancer.

PETA notes that choosing only vegan milks, yogurts, and cheeses not only reduces a person’s risk of suffering from cancer and other diseases but also spares cows and calves torment and death. Cows used by the dairy industry are forcibly inseminated repeatedly—often using what industry insiders have called a “rape rack”—to ensure a steady supply of milk, which a cow produces only after she gives birth. It’s common practice for cows’ beloved newborn calves to be torn away from them shortly after birth so that the milk meant to nourish the calves—who end up in veal crates if they’re male—can be sold for human consumption. Once cows’ bodies wear out after repeated pregnancies, they’re sent to slaughter.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.