Milk.

• Position: LIFE-CYCLE STUDIES

Overview

Milk has nourished young mammals for millions of years, but only humans skim, shake, "chocolify," and otherwise alter and commodity the milk of other species. Yet before cattle were domesticated some 9,000 years ago, milking a cow was an extreme sport and humane avoided or just Ignored their milk. And after weaning, they had no need for the enzymes that separate lactose sugars, so most older humans were lactose intolerant. But geneticists guess that 5,000-7,000 years ago in Europe a rare adventurous lactose-tolerant individual dared to drink the milk from his or her cattle. Those with similar genetic advantages eventually followed in a similar milky way.

Many of the cultures that first developed tastes for milk, such as the almost entirely lactose-tolerant Scandinavians, continue to drink it the most: The highest annual per-capita milk consumption worldwide is found in Finland (164 liters) and Sweden (146 liters). More than 572> million tons of fresh milk were produced in 200b, a 20-percent increase from 1995, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. China, Brazil, and India accounted for nearly half of the decade's increased output.

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Doing Better

Milk can generally he certified as organic if dairy herds are fed crops (or pasture) free of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, genetic modification, and slaughter byproducts such as manure or blood, farmers must also grant herds access to pasture during growing seasons, treat the cows humanely, and separate any sick cows treated with antibiotics.

In addition to organic certification, several governments and industries are rolling out initiatives to limit dairy farm waste, emissions, and water use. The United Kingdom, for instance, announced its Milk Roadmap in 2008--a voluntary campaign to reduce water usage 5-15 percent per liter of milk by 2010, develop manure management plans on 95 percent of farms, and reduce dairy-related greenhouse gases 20-30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

--Ben Block

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Production

Like humans, cows must become pregnant to produce milk. Within a calf's first two days, females are removed and raised for dairy production, while males are often sold for beef. Cows are Increasingly living out their lives in concentrated...