Global Role of Animal Milks

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What is Dairy + Milk

What is “Dairy”

The word “dairy” is meant to imply any foods made from animal milks. Examples of products included under this term are:

• Liquid milk + creams
• Butter, ghee
• Cheese
• Yogurt, sour cream

Just to be clear, eggs are not dairy, although they are often included in the dairy section of the store.

What is “Milk”

At its most basic, “milk” is a nutrient-rich liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals, including us. This liquid contains very important nutrients (calcium, phosphorus, B vitamins, potassium and vitamin D) and is an excellent source of protein; in short, it has all the goodies infants need to grow.

Humans + Milk Consumption

Human Milk = Infant Food

I am convinced that the best milk for human newborns is its own mother’s milk (when available). It is noted by many researchers and studies that our own milk is the best for our young (1, 2, 3). In fact, the CDC reports that human breastfeeding has many known health benefits for infants, children, and mothers and is a key strategy to improve public health. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants are exclusively breastfed for about the first 6 months with continued breastfeeding while introducing complementary foods for at least 1 year. 

But in the USA there has been major marketing money (from dairy and infant formula companies) spent on convincing mothers they do not need to breastfeed. This can be seen in the numbers below.

• 2017 Stats on Breast Feeding in USA
  • Current Rates of infants who are breastfed at any point: 84.1%
  • Infants breastfed exclusively through 3 months: 46.9%
  • Infants breastfed exclusively through 6 months: 25.6%
  • Breastfed newborns given formula within first 2 days: 19.2%

In addition to the marketing, it is also the case that not every human (or animal) newborn can consume its own mother’s milk, and not every women is able to produce milk.

• 2-3 newborns out of 100 are allergic to their mothers milk.
• ~5% of mothers are physically not able to lactate.
• ~2% of mothers cannot produce enough milk.
• Each year 700 mothers in the USA die during or after childbirth so there is no milk to offer newly born infants (4).
• The 2017 global rate is 211 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, where 45% of the deaths occur within 24 hours (5).

Then there are other circumstances, from postpartum depression, to hunger and starvation, stress and overwork, and other issues, that make breast feeding difficult. As a result, early on humans started to rely on animal milks to augment their own.

Human Lactose Intolerance + Persistence

Humans are mammals and thus we historically lactate in order to produce milk to provide for our infants and young children the best nutrition available. As proof that milk is infant and baby food, consider the fact that it contains the unique sugar “lactose”, which 97.5% infants and babies can naturally digest (6); but 65% of us globally cannot tolerate lactose as adults (7).

For many people, after weaning, we no long make the enzyme that can process this sugar. Without that enzyme, humans can experience flatulence, painful cramps, and diarrhea. So the first people who drank milk, after weaning, were probably very uncomfortable; until some of us evolved the ability to produce the enzyme into adulthood. This is called “lactase persistence”.

The nutrition in milk is a large list (please see this MilkFacts chart) that I am not going to replicate here, but let’s agree that animal milks have a rather complete list of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, etc.) critical to infant mammal’s survival. Milk from the mom, regardless of the species, is the perfect infant and baby food for their children.

Statista reports on a 2017 survey that showed 58% of Americans used dairy as “a quality protein source.” Focusing just on USA cows, the milk produced is made up of 87.7% water, 4.9% lactose (a carb), 3.4% fat, 3.3% protein, and 0.7% minerals. Of course the specific ingredients vary depending upon the animal species, breed, what they eat, and the stage of lactation (8).

Adult Milk Drinking

Humans did not always have the ability to drink milk beyond childhood. As the BBC writes: Set against the 300,000-year history of our species, drinking milk is quite a new habit. Before about 10,000 years ago or so, hardly anybody drank milk, and then only on rare occasions. The first people to drink milk regularly were early farmers and pastoralists in western Europe – some of the first humans to live with domesticated animals, including cows. Today, drinking milk is common practice in northern Europe, North America, and a patchwork of other places.

• I would modify the BBC quote a bit, and comment that early dairy cultures were in the Middle East as well as Europe.
• I would also note, given difficulty in storage of liquid milk, the consumption of milk was no doubt predominantly in the forms of butter, cheese and yogurt-type mixtures (9).

The lactase persistence trait is not consistent across populations. About ~90% of Northern Europeans have it, as do some populations in Afria and the Middle East; but many Africans, Asian, and South Americans do not.

By the way, as we age, the more likely we will have issues consuming milk that may lead to general discomfort, bloating or gas. This may also happen if we stop consuming milk or its products for a while, and then start consuming them again.

Global Milk Perspective

Food + Agriculture Organization

The UN has a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that is committed to leading international efforts to defeat hunger.  Specifically, FAO wants to achieve food security for all peoples, by making sure that worldwide people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO has over 194 worldwide member states, and works in over 130 countries worldwide. 

I use this organization when wanting to compare data between our experience in the USA and that of the rest of the world. It is far too easy to assume our personal experience represents others, when often it does not. So this organization informs my listing of animal-based milk and usage below.

Survival Nutrition

Research is clear, meeting vitamin requirements for each human population is a continuing worldwide public health problem. Too many countries have chronic “suboptimal intakes” of critical vitamins and minerals, carbs and protein. Studies have also shown that too many people are at risk, but the rate of risk is complicated and dependent on one’s age, physiology (biology and genetics), climate or season, geographical area, economic or social status, politics and cultural behavior.

In many countries, animal milks have an important role in improving nutrition worldwide. Specifically, the USDA indicates that cow’s milk contains retinol (vitamin A: 11 to 16%), calciferol (vitamin D: 17 to 50%), riboflavin (vitamin B₂: 32 to 46%), pantothenic acid (vitamin B₅: 17 to 21%), and cobalamin (vitamin B₁₂; 42 to 56%). What makes milk in the USA so important are:

• Milk contains a high nutritional density.
• The USA government promotes and markets milk consumption.
• The cost of milk is subsidized and is relatively low cost to consumers.
• Milk is widely distributed nearly everywhere in the country.
• Milk comes in many forms.

Globally Milked Animals

Animal Milk Producers

From my reading, the majority of animals used for human milk consumption are ruminants, a type of mammal with four-chambered stomachs that allow them to produce lots of milk out of high-fiber, low-nutrient plant foods. But humans also use non-ruminants such as camels, or hind-gut fermenters like horses and donkeys.

Global Milk Producers

FAO reports, [w]orld milk production is almost entirely derived from cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep and camels. Other less common milk animals are yaks, horses, reindeers and donkeys. The presence and importance of each species varies significantly among regions and countries.  In turn, each animal’s milk has differing nutritional components.

Again, FAO writes, Sheep allow milk production in semi-arid regions around the Mediterranean, goats in regions with poor soils in Africa, horses in the steppes of Central Asia, camels in arid lands, buffaloes in wet tropical regions, and yaks in high mountainous areas such as the Tibetan Plateau.

The fact that Camels milk is often the only source of water in the arid climates of the Middle East and parts of Africa (10) proves that in places where agriculture is limited, milk is often the difference that leads to survival. Not always just the milk, but the cheese and other products each country and region makes from the animals living at their side.

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Milk We Consume

Many sources indicate that infants under 1 years of age should not be fed animal milks, favoring mothers milk. Speak to your pediatrician if you child experiences issues after drinking any form of milk.

• ClevelandClinic write that infants <1 years of age should not be given cows milk.
• Quora writes the same for buffalo milk.
• In 2006 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a government policy stating that goats’ milk is not suitable for babies, or infant (<1 years of age) formulas; and goats’ milk is not suitable for those with an allergy to cows’ milk protein or lactose intolerance.
• BabyCentre writes infants <1 years of age should not consume sheep’s milk.
• DailyMail writes the same for camel’s milk.

Cows Milk (81% of all milk consumed)

Cows milk is, to my eye, a yellowish tinged, white color and tastes bland with a hint of sweet fat residue in the mouth. Worldwide, humans work to produce 600M metric tons of cow milk. This is the main source of milk in most parts of the world.

• Sub-Saharan Africa: 3/4’s of milk production is from cows
• Asia: 60% of milk production
• North + South America: nearly all
• Europe: nearly all

Buffalos (15%)

While I have not tasted Buffalo milk, from what I have seen in documentaries about the making of mozzarella, it is very white, and appears thicker than even whole milk. By the taste of mozzarella, I imagine the milk is mild.

Buffalo milk is high in calcium and casein-derived peptides that might play a part in osteoporosis therapy. Healthline notes that one study determined that the total antioxidant capacity of buffalo milk ranged between 56–58%, compared with 40–42% for cow’s milk. And there is some proof of it providing heart healthy components as well.

FDC shows that Buffalo milk has more protein, fat, and lactose than Cows. Healthline writes, Buffalo milk also has more vitamins and minerals. It provides 41% of the DV for phosphorus, 32% of the DV for calcium, 19% of the DV for magnesium, and 14% of the DV for vitamin A, compared with 29%, 21%, 6%, and 12% in cow’s milk, respectively. 

South Asian countries rely on this animal for its milk and it is often found in butter, ghee, various cheeses, and ice cream. We eat buffalo milk when we eat (real) buffalo mozzarella or Indian paneer.

Goats (2%)

I have tasted goats milk and cheese. To my mouth, goat cheese tastes like goat’s milk. It tastes grassy, sort of “goaty,” perhaps ”gamey” might be a better term, and has a type of earthy, tangy flavor, almost salty. But it really depends upon the type of pasture and goat the milk came from.

• I am told that Nigerian Dwarf goats milk taste creamy, sweet and mild, due in part to a higher butterfat content. – virtually indistinguishable from the best whole cow milk that they’ve tasted.
• Whereas, I’ve read that Switzerland’s Oberhaslis goats have stronger “goaty” tasting milk.

Goats milk has more calories, protein, fat, and calcium when compared to whole cow milk or lactose free cow’s milk. Unlike Cows milk, this milk may actually help in the absorption of nutrients in a meal. In fact, Healthline writes that Goats milk has a higher presence of “prebiotic” carbohydrates, which help nourish the beneficial bacteria living in our gut ecosystem.

Sheep (1%)

I tasted sheep milk quite a while ago, and my memory was that it did not taste the way sheep smell, it was rather mild and creamy. Sort of sweet.

ScienceDirect  writes that sheep’s milk has more macro-minerals than what is in milk from cows or goats. In particular, sheep milk contains approximately 36% more calcium than cow milk and 31% more than goat milk. However, the mineral content of sheep milk exhibits considerable variation depending on factors such as breed, geographical location, diet, stage of lactation, parity, and farming practices. 

They write that Sheep milk is commonly processed into cheese and yogurt and can be frozen or dried to powder for storage. Real Greek feta cheese comes from sheep’s milk.

Camel Milk (0.5%)

Across Africa and the Middle East over 3M tons of milk is produced from camels. Camel milk is used to make milk, yogurt and cheese. It is white, and I have been told it is both sweet and salty. From a documentary I saw on raising camels, I heard that they only produce a small amount of milk and can be difficult to raise. This milk is also expensive, which makes sense since a cow may produce 50 liters of milk a day, but one camel can provide only 6-7 liters of milk per day.

Why use it? Camel milk, when compared to cows milk, is a little lower in saturated fat, has 10x the Vit C, and contains more potassium and calcium. But also, camels have a cultural and historical role in Africa and Middle East; they evolved in, and naturally inhabit these lands. In a time of climate change, as documented by a WaPo video (21 April 2024), in Africa camel milk use is growing as droughts become more severe; cows can last a couple of days without water, camels 15-20 days.

Camels apparently are more tempermental, individually very different, and need to be trained to be milked; which can take from a few days to weeks. Another difference is that camels need to be kept close to their babys to continue to produce milk.

Horses + Yaks (0.5%)

Horse or Donkeys

Horse milk is described as watery, sweet, and yet grassy. Mare milk is particularly rich in whey protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and vitamin C. NPR writes while the idea of sipping mare’s milk might sound unusual to Western readers, it’s been a traditional staple in Central Asia, where it is often fermented into “koumiss,” a mildly alcoholic drink that was adopted by Russian doctors in the mid-19th century as a treatment for tuberculosis. Patients no less illustrious than the writers Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy swore by its curative powers. According to ScienceDirect, both donkeys and horses are used for limited milk.

Yaks

Yak milk can be colored pinkish or white, and is described as sweet, fragrant, and some writers say it is almost delicate. ScienceDirect notes, Yak milk has been a major traditional staple food for yak herders and their families in the highland plains of Tibet. Yak milk is consumed as full-fat milk by children and the elderly, and is used to manufacture butter, ghee, cheese, and yogurt.

I have tasted Yak Milk Tea in a Tibetan restaurant; it was, for me, a fragrant milk and sweet. I have also had Yak Butter Tea, which tasted okay, but the texture in my mouth was too butter rich and thick.

My Animal Milk Experience

My spouse and I have the genetics to easily process milk lactose as adults, while our son is lactose intolerant. So, while cow‘s milk and dairy products are in my home, my son is milk free. If I were to open my fridge right now, here is what I may find:

• Fat Free Milk from the Straus Family Creamery.
• Some cow, goat, and sheep cheese.
• Plant milks (which I am drinking for future posts in this series).

As I lived and traveled around the world, I have consumed a variety of milks and dairy products.

• Cow’s milk, cream, cheese in all its variations.
• Goat milk and various types of goat cheese.
• Sheep milk and cheese like Greek Feta and Spanish Manchego.
• Italian Buffalo Mozzarella and Indian Buffalo paneer.
• In California I consumed Yak Milk Tea and Yak Butter Tea.

But I have not yet tasted reindeer (consumed by Laplanders), camel, horse, or donkey milks, nor anything derived from them. Have you? If so, let me know what to add or modify so that my post is as accurate as possible.

—Patty

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