Why do we only drink cows’ milk?
You’ve probably thought about this:
There are 6000 mammals in the world. All of them produce milk.
So… why do we love cow’s milk so much?!
What makes cows’ milk our favourite?
(fun fact: 97% of dairy products in supermarkets come from cows)
In Europe, early settlers first drank goats’ milk. However, among goats, sheep and cows, cows were easiest to milk and most productive in lactating. Not only was each cow capable of producing 100 pounds of milk, cows were so tame that they even “queued up” to get themselves milked.
Furthermore, cows’ milk has been found to have many health benefits. The lactose in cows’ milk aids the growth of probiotics such as lactobacillus found in our gut, which keeps the population numbers of bad bacteria in check. Cows’ milk is also extremely nutritious — it is high in protein and vitamins and is much lower in cholesterol than milk from other animals.
Milk aside, cows’ are basically nature’s gift to humans — almost all of their body parts can become food and find their way onto the dining table.
Why have other milks pale in comparison? Let’s take a look at other forms of milk, and why they aren’t so good as cows’ milk.
Sheep’s milk- too little, too fatty
It’s tough to raise sheep — they need lots of green pastures and space, making their milk difficult to produce. Additionally, the fat content in sheep’s milk is double that of cows’ milk and human milk, making it hard to sell as a healthy baby product.
Buffaloes’ milk- too difficult to milk
Water buffaloes are hard to tame for milk production, simply because they are not as tame as sheep. An American owner of a milk farm (who once served as a lieutenant in the army) even quipped that it’s harder to milk a buffalo than to lead an army to battle!
Besides the difficulty in producing buffaloes’ milk, its taste is unable to compete with cows’ milk, and nutrition wise, it’s protein content is lower.
Camels’ milk- too salty
In the dry climate of the Middle East and Africa, camels’ milk a rare source of fluid. However, it’s not easy to produce. Moreover, to preserve water content in the camel’s body, the amount of sodium it consumes is eight times that of cows, causing it’s milk to taste strangely salty.
Pigs’ milk- too strong
As for pigs’ milk, the taste is way too strong.
Even more problematic is how difficult it is to milk a female pig because they are smart, suspicious of touch, and stubborn. Furthermore, when lactating, female pigs get highly aggressive towards others, making it even harder to milk them.
That’s why cow’s milk is the key source of dairy for us. In recent years, however, there have been more plant-based alternatives such as soy milk and almond milk that have been made available to lactose intolerant people as well as vegans.
Yo! I’m Miao. Can’t believe you scrolled all the way down here… bet you could’ve done a Math question with that time 😎 How about this — want to do Math together? I’m right here!
