Why Don’t We Drink Human Milk?

We need to start questioning our belief systems

A few years ago, an ice cream parlour in London made headlines. One of their ice creams was made using milk from humans. For many, the idea of eating ice cream made from human milk is nauseating, and headlines centred along those lines. This attitude is a result of our underlying belief systems.

In society, dairy products are a staple food. We can’t get enough of cow milk in its various forms. Cheese, ice cream, butter, not to mention plain old regular cow milk, are consumed in vast quantities.

Let’s get this straight — babies drink their mother’s milk, this is natural, and vital for the healthy development of the baby. As we get older, cow milk replaces breast milk.

Can you see the contradiction in our behaviour?

How can drinking breast milk when we’re a baby become repulsive when we’re an adult? And yet, drinking milk from another species is acceptable?

This is cognitive dissonance at its finest.

We don’t question the behaviour because it’s a part of our reality. From a different perspective, our consumption of cow milk would seem odd. But we’re a part of a belief system normalising this behaviour. To the point where it’s odd not to eat dairy products. This emphasises how powerful belief systems are in controlling how we see the world and how we behave as a society.

One true reality?

The dominant belief systems of a certain time create societies reality. This acts as a glue, leading to conformity and a functioning society. Beliefs go unquestioned as they are the fabric of how people see the world.

Imagine everyone had different belief systems and different interpretations of reality? Some people’s behaviour would appear bizarre from the perspective of others, and vice versa. A functioning society wouldn’t be possible and chaos would ensue.

For a society to function there must be one dominant belief system uniting it. The abolition of the slave trade in America is an example of two belief systems coming into conflict. For the South, the slave trade was a way of life. A world without slaves was incomprehensible.