Page 96 - Fall2020

Hindus consider milk a gift from the gods, and lactase-persistence gene. This has led many researchers to the probably
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rivers of milk also flow in the Muslim paradise. erroneous conclusion that Neolithic humans must have been fermenting
By the time of the Roman Empire, humans or culturing milk to reduce or remove its lactose content. This error is
had been drinking milk from animals for thou- due to a loss of fundamental knowledge about raw milk.
sands of years. The Romans drank milk and used In reality, “lactose intolerance” is primarily pasteurization intolerance.
it to make a variety of cheeses. Cheese provided Unlike pasteurized milk, raw milk facilitates the production of lactase
Roman soldiers with easily transportable nour- in the human gut, so it is not likely that there were widespread issues
ishment with a long shelf life. The wealthy even with lactose intolerance in Neolithic populations. In all likelihood, these
used milk for bathing, as it was considered to be early populations would have been able to consume milk in its fresh form
great for the skin. straight from the mammals, as well
In the 1600s, early settlers in as in the lacto-fermented curds and
America relied heavily on milk whey, which would form quickly
from cows and goats for nutrition. without refrigeration.
Settlers in both the Jamestown The competitive advantage
and Plymouth colonies benefited provided by raw milk is not to be
from the tremendous advantages understated. Raw milk allowed hu-
of milking animals. Resupply mans to thrive in conditions where
missions brought hundreds of survival would have otherwise been
additional livestock to these difficult. It allowed them to migrate
colonies. Milking animals were Specialized vessels for and proliferate from region to region
important in helping European separating curds and whey. 9 with a steady supply of food. Those
colonists survive and thrive in populations that consumed milk fur-
America. ther adapted by developing lactase-
persistence genes. Scientists now believe that the lactase-persistence genes
LACTASE AND were spread through natural selection. This means that the reproductive
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GENETIC ADAPTATIONS FOR MILK capacity and survivability of ancient raw milk drinkers was substantially
The domestication of mammals and con- increased compared to non-milk-drinking populations. Moreover, the
sumption of their raw milk provided a source lactase-persistence genes would have facilitated the easy digestion of
of biodiverse colonies of bacteria for the human milk in many forms, including boiled or cooked milk. There is current
gut. When people began drinking raw milk at evidence of lactase-persistence genes in people from regions of Africa,
least ten thousand years ago, these biodiverse Europe, Asia and the Middle East. However even those without the
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bacteria began the genomic adaptation for lac- lactase-persistence gene can generally digest raw milk because of the
tase production and lactase-persistence genes. raw milk bacteria that create lactase for the human gut.
Lactase is the enzyme responsible for breaking
down lactose into digestible form. PASTEURIZATION:
Archaeological evidence shows that humans A TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTION TO A MANMADE PROBLEM
were consuming raw milk for thousands of By the mid-1800s in America, some raw milk production had shifted
years before the widespread appearance of the away from farms and into highly populated cities. Big cities did not have

Selection of late Bronze/early Iron Age feeding vessels. 8

94 Wise Traditions FALL 2020