“Growing children around the world:”
Contemporary global patterns of milk consumption and the meanings of child growth
Abstract:
Historically milk production and consumption were important parts of local foodways in several areas of the world but notably absent from others. This pattern corresponded to biological variation in milk digestion. However, by the late 20th century, milk consumption has become globally normative, and a spectacular rise in intake has been documented in countries with emergent economies, including China and India. Meanwhile in the U.S., consumption has declined steadily, especially among children. In this paper I argue that milk has been able to achieve a dominant presence in diets in India and China by being positioned as a food with special qualities that enhance physical growth, which in turn serves as a powerful metaphor for individual and national power and wealth. Simultaneously, milk’s link to growth has become more problematic in the U.S. I review the evidence underlying claims about milk’s relationship to physical growth and consider how this particular food has been able to achieve a global presence through its associations with child growth.
