Not only does language evolve, making this prescriptivism flimsy on its own, but language already evolved to encompass plant milks before your great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents were gametes. This isn’t a neologism or a theft of the term “milk”; this has existed for many centuries. The prescriptivist argument is as dead as a doornail because credible authorities on language usage such as dictionaries have called it “milk” for centuries, and any argument from descriptivism is dead on arrival because plant milk actually is called as such by the overwhelming majority of people.
I’m leaving this up despite a report mainly because I believe in being generous with rules (which this comment skirts up against the spirit but not the letters of), and I see it as an opportunity to reach out to someone who genuinely might not know.
Edit: I want to make it a point that this isn’t some kind of takedown. To clarify, omnivores are more than welcome here as guests, because vegan activism is just as much about outreach as it is about community. It’s okay not to know everything about everything; none of us do. We go through life learning at our own paces, and the best we can do is encourage others along the way.
You could argue that it’s because it has a milky texture, therefore still correct to call it almond milk despite not matching the traditional definition if milk.
I don’t see people being irrationally bothered about peanut butter using the word butter, despite not being dairy-based.
No. Because like almond suspension, it’s not milk. If it comes from a teat it’s milk, otherwise it’s just water with nut powder suspended in it.
If you want milk, drink milk. Don’t fool yourself with disingenuous terminology.
Plant milk has been popular since the early 2nd millennium, and it’s been called milk in English since – at the barest of bare minimums – the 1700s. (This estimate is beyond conservative; the Online Etymology Dictionary acknowledges “milk” as being used for “milk-like plant juices” in c. 1200.) This is a common talking point, but it’s one that needs to die because it’s categorically false.
Not only does language evolve, making this prescriptivism flimsy on its own, but language already evolved to encompass plant milks before your great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents were gametes. This isn’t a neologism or a theft of the term “milk”; this has existed for many centuries. The prescriptivist argument is as dead as a doornail because credible authorities on language usage such as dictionaries have called it “milk” for centuries, and any argument from descriptivism is dead on arrival because plant milk actually is called as such by the overwhelming majority of people.
I’m leaving this up despite a report mainly because I believe in being generous with rules (which this comment skirts up against the spirit but not the letters of), and I see it as an opportunity to reach out to someone who genuinely might not know.
Edit: I want to make it a point that this isn’t some kind of takedown. To clarify, omnivores are more than welcome here as guests, because vegan activism is just as much about outreach as it is about community. It’s okay not to know everything about everything; none of us do. We go through life learning at our own paces, and the best we can do is encourage others along the way.
You could argue that it’s because it has a milky texture, therefore still correct to call it almond milk despite not matching the traditional definition if milk.
I don’t see people being irrationally bothered about peanut butter using the word butter, despite not being dairy-based.
I beg to differ as it is a replacement for people who are lactose intolerant and/or vegan and serves the same purposes as dairy milk.