Top headlines
Lead story
Milk, in all its delectable forms, is a staple in the diets of millions of people worldwide. Ice cream, yogurt, cheese and boba milk tea are so ubiquitous, it seems reasonable to assume that those who are unable to stomach such treats without major issues number few and far between.
But turns out, the vast majority of the globe are lactose intolerant. Put another way: The people who aren’t lactose intolerant are actually the “unnatural” ones.
To understand how lactose intolerance was “invented,” as historian Hilary Smith of the University of Denver describes it, one need only look at the state of the U.S. dairy industry in the 1960s and the excess of milk the American government successfully sold to its citizens and its international allies. Scientists explained away bothersome symptoms as an inborn defect of those experiencing them – which just so happens to encompass two-thirds of the human population who predominantly aren’t of northern European descent.
This way of thinking isn’t limited to just milk. And its consequences reverberate far beyond the dairy aisle.
“Turning a lactose-digestion difference into a deficiency has done more to reinforce narratives of racial hierarchy than to improve public health,” writes Smith.
Sign up for The Afternoon Story to get a hand-picked article in your inbox every day.
