This question popped into my head after an ADHD moment of deconstructing the concept that humans willingly drink cow milk on an industrial scale. Would you drink milk if it was human women pumping the milk themselves?
One thing I’ve heard mentioned is that the vegan restriction on animal milk is actually about consent, which humans can give (especially when paid), so human milk can be vegan. That opens up the possibility of vegan cheese, butter, etc. but as true dairy products. Seems like an untapped niche to me.
The internet has taught me that human breast milk doesn’t make good cheese. Something about the protein content. Either too high or not high enough.
Iirc it’s not enough. Human milk is pretty lean on the spectrum of fat content.
What if I CRISPR my tits for a better nutrient profile. Can I make money selling vegan dairy then?
The best use for CRISPR we have thought of as of now.
That opens up the possibility of vegan cheese, butter, etc. but as true dairy products.
There actually are vegan dairy-ish products out there. Several startups have inserted the gene for casein (the main protein in milk) into yeast. So you just harvest the casein, add a little bit of some sort of fat and sugar and you have something that’s 99% the same as milk, and can be used in the same sorts of processes.
The only product that I’ve actually tried was some Brave Robot ice cream, which was well… ice cream.
Yeah but did the yeast consent to that?
Yes they did. The ate the food and shat out lactose
I believe it depends on the sub-type of Veganism. Some forms of it are more strict and don’t allow for as much if any leeway.
The other thing about it is that mammals, with rare exceptions, have to have had a baby before they produce milk, and of course since dairy farmers want to make a profit, they just force pregnancy on their animals and take their babies away to bring about a “surplus” of milk for them to sell. So if this ends up happening with people, I want no part of it.
You can buy breast milk in America.
I would rather get it straight from the jugs instead of out of a jug.
I’m ngl I completely forgot milk banks existed but I was also meaning as more of a regular item in the dairy section of whatever grocer you frequent
Wow, look at the milk banks on her
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Imagine being like “hey I saw Mary today, got her milk to make a cake for tonight, it’s always a great one”
“Karen, I’m sorry, but I’d like to ask for my money back. This milk is so bitter…”
I’m picturing women in every work kitchen with their tits out and some tap-like contraption attached to each breast, just sitting there idling next to the coffee machine.
Like Mad Max: Fury Road.
Office wet nurse could be a post-boobie sexualization side gig. Glorious or dystopian future, you decide.
No, I’ll keep on getting mine from the fridge at work.
The funniest part is that post is what started the thought process that lead to this question.
How do you milk a fridge?
Do you work at Blizzard?
Bobby said I can neither confirm nor deny that
I would, but I also think this would turn bad as soon as this was a big commercially available thing.The people pumping would probably be exploited to the point their kids actually needing the milk would get less.
Just like dairy.
But without human veal.
boo
Eek!
Wet-nursing is a thing. Most probably, they’ll use hormones to induce lactation in willing women. The question is output.
I’ve drank person milk from two different people. It’s pretty thin and watery, but sweeter than cow’s milk. On the whole I don’t feel like I’m missing anything by not having more of it.
Calling it person milk is technically correct but boy oh boy does it make me uncomfortable.
It is for sale commercially. Hella expensive! $107 for 50 ml.
https://www.innov-research.com/products/single-donor-human-breast-milk
Now you can get it from private individuals for less - a buck or two per ounce, plus overnight shipping. But there are no food safety guarantees. You have no idea who the donor is, what kind of diet they have (may be an issue if you have food or drug allergies), or their health. That’s why it’s not recommended by the FDA.
Nah. I switched from cow milk to plant milk a couple years ago and while it wasn’t awesome at first, once I discovered oat milk my troubles were over. It’s so damn good. I don’t see how human milk would be an improvement.
I assumed the only reason we don’t already is because of the ethical issues with subjecting human women to the practices that make bovine milk economical.
All milk is breast milk.
TIL: Almonds have breasts
Almond milk isn’t milk.
See this is one of my biggest issues with Lemmy. The pedantry.
I don’t know any person irl who wouldn’t know exactly what I mean when I say breast milk.
Because no one refers to any other milk as breast milk.
You know what? The four (4) of you are right. The crying baby picture was inappropriate. Maybe this one is better?
I’m upvoting only because of the dedication and pettiness.
Nice. I stumbled on that one on my phone earlier and thought it was funny.
I have nipples Greg, can you milk me?
all milk comes from breasts
edit: oh, human breasts. no, as i’ve heard it tastes gross.
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I think the best description was it tastes like the milk from a bowl of honey nut Cheerios. It was very accurate to me.
Ironically I used a similar comparison in another comment as it’s a very good comparison.
Just wanted to add another agreement here. It’s like milk at the bottom of a bowl of children’s cereal (er, obviously not Coco Pops).
I’m surprised that there’s a few people saying it tastes salty. I wonder how much it depends on diet - I guess human diets vary more than cow diets do.
That’s a fair point lol
But as far as I’m aware when referring to non human breasts we rarely use that word.
Mammary glands, udders, and nipples are the three that pop into my head when thinking about animal titties. Which I’m realizing I’m doing a little too much of recently lmao
i suppose. i don’t think about them much.
That depends on how you define breasts. From Wikipedia:
The platypus’ mammary glands lack teats, with milk released through pores in the skin. The milk pools in grooves on the mother’s abdomen, allowing the young to lap it up.
Someone else already beat you to this
It’s not great, but that’s true of raw milk in general IME.
That’s the other thing: raw. I like the science behind pasteurization. I trust it.
Edit: I also find homogenization to be convenient
Nah it tastes fine. Too sweet for pouring over cereal though.
Ehhh…
Well, idk about buying but I’ll start selling
Maybe if it had a sexy mascot or something
So many issues here… Is the harvesting consensual? Are children being deprived?
I mean I picture it like working at a factory. Clock in and start pumping. Also I picture it like certain dairy farms with how they wait for the calf to be fully weened before harvesting the rest, so children wouldn’t be being deprived.
Plus if they were being deprived finding more breast milk wouldn’t exactly be hard ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I think the primary concern would be women giving too much milk at work to meet quotas, followed by the risk of women giving too much to make money, not leaving enough for their own children. But breast milk will continue to be produced as long as it’s withdrawn, so there should be an ethical way to continue it.
Probably not, I don’t even drink cows milk any more. Not because I’m vegan or anything like that, just purely for practical reasons. Cow milk goes off at the drop of a hat but I always manage to get through all my oat milk or almond milk without it turning.
Seriously, cows milk even pasteurized goes bad way too quickly since I only use it for coffee or cereal.
I wouldn’t buy it, but if that industry needs people to help with the milking part I might be available.
