What’s in a name?

So what is milk?
Is milk the excretion from the mammary glands of a female bovine, or is it just a white liquid that we drink that may come from cows, goats or even nuts?
Is soy milk or almond milk or rice milk actually milk or is it just worded that way so that the products get sales? Or so people get how to use them – ie as a substitute for the dairy based milks?
This is question bouncing around right now as the milk industry are talking about putting a case together to have milk clearly defined so that the word cannot be used on other products.
It’s like Champagne. A name that can only be used on a specific type of product made a certain way in a specific region in France. This word is not permitted to be used on any product that does not meet those requirements. The problem is that Sparkling Wine does not sound as inviting as Champagne – with it’s long and involved history.
This is similar to what the milk industry are thinking.
But it’s not just milk which is under the spotlight, the Tax Department are now asking, what does the word, salad, actually mean?
Their reason is simple, depending upon what is a salad and what is in it as to whether it gets taxed or not.
Salads do not have GST, as it is considered a necessity and so is exempt, to encourage good nutrition.
Nutritionists also ask the same question? As “salads” have very different nutritional properties.
Is a pasta, rice or seafood salad actually a salad or not?
According to the Macquarie dictionary only “ a dish of uncooked vegetable typically served with a savoury dressing” can be considered a salad.
So it’s all – what’s in a name.