Milk is racist!!
When I was in high school, I had a substitute teacher who for some reason complained that people drink milk. His argument was basically, "all mammals stop drinking milk and actually get weaned, so why the hell do we keep drinking it when we are adults? We're the only ones who do this. It is unnatural. We should try keeping up with the other mammals."
For some reason this memory keeps popping up every now and then and I want to see if I can make it go away by talking some sense into it.
Part of the weaning process involves lactose intolerance. When the animal grows up it has some pain after consuming milk. Some humans however retain their lactose tolerance (or some of it) and can keep consuming dairy products the rest of their lives. This isn't being "behind," it's actually an evolutionary advantage. If you live in a population where food is difficult to find, but you have a bunch of horses or cows and milk is readily available, it's a good thing if you are able to digest it. Milk is a valuable source of calories and many nutrients.
*This* is why humans keep consuming dairy products while other mammals don't. It's not unnatural. Few things more natural than evolution.
That's just a simplistic version of course. There are many humans who are intolerant, and also some mammals who are not. I know that European pet cats are often given milk, while I read an American book that cats can't drink it, so it depends on where you are, what ethnic group/breed, etc.
For some reason this memory keeps popping up every now and then and I want to see if I can make it go away by talking some sense into it.
Part of the weaning process involves lactose intolerance. When the animal grows up it has some pain after consuming milk. Some humans however retain their lactose tolerance (or some of it) and can keep consuming dairy products the rest of their lives. This isn't being "behind," it's actually an evolutionary advantage. If you live in a population where food is difficult to find, but you have a bunch of horses or cows and milk is readily available, it's a good thing if you are able to digest it. Milk is a valuable source of calories and many nutrients.
*This* is why humans keep consuming dairy products while other mammals don't. It's not unnatural. Few things more natural than evolution.
That's just a simplistic version of course. There are many humans who are intolerant, and also some mammals who are not. I know that European pet cats are often given milk, while I read an American book that cats can't drink it, so it depends on where you are, what ethnic group/breed, etc.