Of Milk and Men
Cow’s milk is ubiquitous in our culture. As with any cultural tradition the very fact of its pervasiveness gives it a certain immunity from critique. I’d like to share a little milk perspective with the hope that it will enable us to begin to reassess our relationship to the mammary gland secretions of non-human mothers.
“On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen“, by Harold McGee is referred to as the most complete book on food to date. It’s a monumental work of food science and history. The idea that cow’s milk should perhaps not be so pervasive in the human diet isn’t just being discussed in animal rights circles by any means. The following are selected excerpts from the section of McGee’s book on milk and dairy products.
(Milk) gives newborn (mammals) the advantage of ideally formulated food from the mother even after birth, and therefore the opportunity to continue their physical development outside the womb. The human species has taken full advantage of this opportunity: we are completely helpless for months after birth, while our brains finish growing to a size that would be difficult to accomade in the womb and birth canal. In this sense, milk helped make possible the evolution of our large brain, and so helped make us the unusual animals we are. p.8
Milk has long been synonymous with wholesome, fundamental nutrition, and for good reason: unlike most of our foods, it is actually designed to be a food. As the sole sustaining food of the calf at the beginning of its life, it’s a rich source of many essential body-building nutrients… Over the last few decades, however, the idealized portrait of milk has become more shaded. We’ve learned that the balance of nutrients in cow’s milk doesn’t meet the needs of human infants, that most adult humans on the planet can’t digest the milk sugar called lactose, that the best route to calcium balance may not be massive milk intake. These complications help remind us that milk was designed to be a food for the young and rapidly growing calf, not for the young or mature human. p.12-13 (emphasis mine)
One of the most interesting and perhaps troubling findings in current research is around casein, the major protein in milk. We learn from McGee that we’re now beginning to recognize that casein “appears to be a complex, subtle orchestrator of the infant’s metabolism”. When casein is digested it is broken down into peptides, which affect the body in hormone like ways. For example some casein peptides reduce heart and breathing rates, trigger insulin release, and stimulate the scavenging activity of white blood cells. p. 16 Keep in mind that those activities are directed, in cows milk, toward the healthy development of a baby cow who would naturally grow from 65 lbs to 1000 lbs. before it switches to solid food. The effect of the dairy protein casein on human biology is also a major focus of T. Collin Campbell’s work “The China Study” which is a highly recommended read for anyone who regularly consumes dairy products.
Why is it so difficult to think objectively about this particular mammalian mammary gland secretion? We’ve been indoctrinated into a food system driven by producers. It’s important that we never question our place as cow’s milk consumers because we might otherwise not be … well, dairy consumers. The relationship between the industries based on animal exploitation and the development of the USDA food guidelines (the pyramid, the four food groups, etc.) is fascinating and one worth a little reading for the educated consumer. I suggest “Food Politics” by Marion Nestle, and “The Food Revolution” by John Robbins and I’ll end this post with some factoids from the latter (which is meticulously footnoted for cross-referencing).
Average American’s estimate when asked what percentage of adults worldwide do not drink milk: 1%
Actual number of adults worldwide who do not drink milk: 65%
——————–
Countries with the highest consumption of dairy products: Finland, Sweden, United States, England
Countries with the hightest rates of osteoporosis: Finland, Sweden, United States, England
——————–
Calcium intake in rural China: 1/2 that of people in the United States
Bone fracture rate in rural China: 1/5 that of people in the United States
——————–
Foods that when eaten produce calcium loss though urinary excretion: animal protein, salt, and coffee
Amount of calcium lost in the urine of a woman after eating a hamburger: 28 milligrams
Amount of calcium lost in the urine of a woman after drinking a cup of coffee: 2 milligrams
——————–
Antibiotics allowed in U.S. cow’s milk: 80
Antibiotics found in soy milk: None
——————–
Children with chronic constipation so intractible that it can’t be treated successfully by laxatives, who are cured by switching from cow’s milk to soy milk: 44%
——————–
Where most Americans get their information about foods: Advertising
Amount of money spent annually by McDonald’s advertising their products: 800 million
Amount of money spent annually by the dairy industry promoting milk mustache ads: 190 million
Amount spent annually by the National Cancer Institute promoting fruits and vegetables: 1 million
