Friday, January 14, 2011

Got Milk?

I just read a very interesting article/interview about a woman in New York City who's experimenting with artisanal cheese made from human milk. Did you just think (or say out loud) a word like "yuck?" Think about it. If you had to drink milk directly from a living creature, any creature, which one would be most appealing to you?

To my knowledge, humans are the only mammals that continue consuming milk after they've been weaned. The only reason this is even possible is because humans have domesticated animals, and so they can freely milk them. So here's another question: when you think in terms of milk that is "local, natural, free-range, organic, fair-trade, fresh and raw," which creature are you most likely to get this kind of milk from? Add to that, the fact that only human milk is naturally formulated for human consumption, with all the right enzymes, hormones and nutrients.

If after considering these undeniable factors, you still balk at the idea of drinking human milk--from some woman (or women) you don't even know, or (perhaps even more of a turn-off) from a woman you do know--imagine how much of a turn-off it would be if the humans your milk came from were confined, hooked up to breast-pumping machines, fed things humans are not genetically designed to digest, shot up with antibiotics and hormones, artificially inseminated to keep them in a constant state of pregnancy, their newborns torn from them almost immediately after birth, and used for meat when they're too old and worn out to produce. Sound freaky? Wouldn't it be a rather disturbing sign if anyone didn't think this was sick and wrong?

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