A U.S man wrote a letter to the Illinois Pork Producers’ Association, asking why people don’t consume pig’s milk. A Pork Quality Assurance Intern must have had some time on his hands because he sent a detailed reply.
Why consider drinking pig’s milk?
• Porcine are mammals and do lactate.
• One might assume that the milk would taste great, as it’s made of 8.5% fat in comparison to the 3.5% fat that makes up cow’s milk.
• Other components like lactose and water are in almost the same percentages.
• Pigs consume less feed per day than cows.
Why we don’t drink pig’s milk:
• A pig produces 5.9 kg of milk a day whereas a cow produces 29.4 kg.
• Pigs, unlike cows cannot become pregnant while lactating and therefore possess a severe economic problem to producers.
• Collecting the product would be extremely hard; pigs have, on average, fourteen teats, whereas a cow has four.
• Pigs differ from cows in their milk ejection time. A cow’s milk ejection is stimulated by the hormone, oxytocin, and can last ten minutes. A pig’s milk ejection time only lasts fifteen seconds.
• The technology of a 14-cupped mechanised milking machine that can milk a pig in fifteen seconds is not viable to pork producers.
You might not be frothing up a storm after reading this, but find out the best way to froth milk for your coffee, here.