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?
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.
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.
