Breast milk substitute: asses' milk?

[AmyCa]

I was talking to my distance learning mentor today about some nuns nearby that raise donkeys for their milk. (I live in Sicily and donkeys are common work animals here.) I thought some of you might also be interested.

It was used by both Cleopatra and Napoleon's sister as a skin care product. Now it's becoming the milk of choice for children in Europe with food allergies due to its striking nutritional similarities to human breast milk: It has a much higher protein content and lower fat than bovine milk, and the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3s is favorable.

It's also the rarest, most expensive milk on the market--Hence the nuns' decision to start breeding donkeys. Apparently they're running quite a successful business venture. They say that they make enough money to live humbly, and use the rest for their charity work.

 I haven't tasted the milk, but I've heard it's very sweet...

Wikipedia page on Asses' milk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asses'_milk_(Donkey's_milk)

A producer's website: http://www.eurolactis.com/en/

[AmyCa]

Oops, here's the link to a research article on the use of donkey's milk as a substitute for mother's milk in Sicily:
http://www.iszsicilia.it/Immagini/d.pdf

[KellyT]

Interesting article. Thank you for posting it.

I am not surprised at research into alternative species' milk used for human infants, as the cow milk industry has shown the profits that can be achieved through the use of artificial baby milk. There has not be much research into the use of milk from primates, since it cannot be acquired in large enough quantities. Europe has placed restrictions on the use of soy formula, but goat milk formula is commercially available, though.

Here in the US, genetically modified goats are being bred to produce milk closer in profile to human milk.

In addition to supporting women in breastfeeding both on an individual level and on a cultural level, I personally believe it would be healthier and more cost-effective to expand our networks of human milk banks (although I do not like the pasteurization of the milk). Wet nursing is slowly coming back into the mainstream and is considered by the World Health Organization to be the third most preferred way to feed an infant, with formula ranked fourth. (Direct breastfeeding by the mother is first and breastmilk from the mother away from the breast is second.)

Human infants deserve human milk!

[AmyCa]

Hi Kelly,

I agree with you. If I were a mother I'd want my infant drinking nothing but human milk.

I find this topic more interesting from a historical and cultural perspective. Donkey's milk was the milk of choice in ancient Egypt, then it more or less disappeared into antiquity. Why? Now we're discovering that it's actually a much better choice for human consumption that cow's milk, so it's coming back into favor. The nutritional profile compared to cow's milk is really something...

I'll you one thing--I'd much rather join the nuns for a glass of that holy asses' milk right now than drink a glass of totally unholy cow's milk from the supermarket!