Milk from Cows?

[billd91]

I remember seeing a stand-up comedian on TV doing a routine about something similar. He was joking about how we get all shocked at some kinds of food traditions, like eating dog in parts of Asia. He then went on to point out how ridiculous this was by imagining a cave man walking around determining what's good to eat. Crabs have a hard shell and pinch, but that dog will come to you if you whistle, an easy dinner.

 

[Umbran]

The funny thing is, no matter how long we have been drinking and eating the stuff (and likely it was more eating than drinking at least for adults), our systems can't really process it! Adult mammals were not meant to drink milk. We don't have the right enzymes and intestinal bacteria for it.

Well, yes and no. Humans are omnivores - we are "designed" to eat whatever we can get our hands on. Our systems are flexible. For most humans, if they have a continuous diet of dairy from birth onwards, they'll have the enzymes and flora for it. Humans who stop eating dairy early in life (like folks in many Asian cultures), will tend to lose the enzymes and flora, and cannot regain them. And a few adults stop making the right enzymes, even given the diet.

This, as compared to your household cat, who is designed as an obligate carnivore. Despite the popular wisdom about loving milk, your cat will most often be lactose intolerant even if they have a constant supply of milk from kittenhood on.

 

[Wystan]

I wonder all the time who determined which mushrooms were safe?

Researcher writing in journal:
01/15/1325 Subject number three is still alive, Mushroom A154 must be safe
01/16/1325 Subject number twelve died today, looked to be in pain, Mushroom A192 must be poisonous

Ect....

 

[Bagpuss]

How do we know that OTHER liquids from a cow aren't just as yummy?

Man, what a weird conversation.

There is a tribe in Africa that drinks the blood of cows, they 'milk them' for blood about once a month.

 

[BBQ Man]

And a few adults stop making the right enzymes, even given the diet.

This is me sadly. I used to go through two gallons of milk a week growing up and through high school, then over the course of about 3 months *BAM* no more enzymes

sniff


Mike

 

[Aeolius]

I have that one topped... Hagfish Slime

 

[Galethorn]

Ewwwww...

Having read what I've read about what hagfish themselves eat, and where they like to hang around, I'd have to say 'no' to hagfish slime scones. Blech!

 

[reveal]

I have that one topped... Hagfish Slime

"So what do you think of the slime Bob?"

"Mmmm... 'snot bad."

 

[Gnarlo]

"So what do you think of the slime Bob?"

"Mmmm... 'snot bad."

"I'd rather have it on a bun though, you know I love my hamboogers"

 

[Ambrus]

I wonder all the time who determined which mushrooms were safe?

Researcher writing in journal:
01/15/1325 Subject number three is still alive, Mushroom A154 must be safe
01/16/1325 Subject number twelve died today, looked to be in pain, Mushroom A192 must be poisonous

I think people are perhaps missing the obvious, the members of our species didn't just go around carefully testing various materials to determine their edibility out of curiosity; they did it out of desperation. We are so blessed with an abundance of food nowadays that I think we often forget that, for the majority of our species' existence, our ancestors were often running around desperately trying to find their (and their offspring's) next meal. Droughts happen and plants dry up and disappear, a blight hits and crops rot in the ground, a virus mutates and wildlife and livestock are falling over dead... Famine has been an ever present companion of our species. When there were no fish, we tried eating shell-fish or snails. When crops disappeared, we tried mushrooms, flowers and tree bark. When meat turned rancid we tried hiding the taste with spices so that we could try to stomach it. Some of it turned out to be edible so people kept on eating it, even when the famine was over; that's how some cultures developed strange delicacies. That's how cannibalism came about in some cultures; when people get hungry enough they'll try eating anything... I imagine cow's milk as a staple was relatively simple to figure out as compared to, say, how to catch and prepare a poisonous snake for you and your family to eat.

Of all the species of earth, humans have the widest variety in their diet. It's that versatility that has allowed us survive as a species and to successfully live in every climate on earth.