Wellcome x Sourced

This summer we had the pleasure of working with the Wellcome Collection to curate and edit five articles around the topic of MILK, to coincide with their recent exhibition.

Milk, from Grass to Ground

It is no exaggeration to say that without milk we would not be here. But once we are weaned as babies and move to solid food, the milk we add to our diets is transformed. For some it’s a necessity, for others a luxury or even an ethical dilemma.

This series looks at milk from the ground up, literally. We will explore how the grass cows eat affects the flavour of milk; how colonialism altered topographies to create space for dairy farming; the mythologies of purity milk can imbue; and why turning away from animal milk can create bonds for marginalised communities.

In keeping with Sourced’s editorial vision, this series examined the cultural, political and commercial systems in which milk participates, with a particular focus on the relationships between health (personal, animal or community) and milk. Read the five articles that were published on Wellcome Stories:

Soil health and dairy farming in the UK, by Angela Hui Although healthy soil means more nutritious dairy products, modern intensive farming methods pollute and degrade the environment. However, a regenerative agriculture movement is kicking back against mainstream industrial farming.

The white tears of Taranaki, by Sarah Hopkins Taranaki in Aotearoa, New Zealand, is home to the world’s largest dairy factory. Sarah Hopkinson questions the price paid by an area dominated by monoculture.

How Californian dairy farmers stole a way of life, by Cecilia Moreno When European settlers drained a beautiful Californian lake to provide dairy grazing, the lives of nearby Native American peoples changed out of all recognition. But recent rainfall is strengthening hopes of a return to the old ways.

Sacred cows and nutritional purity in India, by Apoorva Sripathi Apoorva Sripathi explores the complex reasons behind India’s recent boom in all things dairy – beginning with a 1970s Western food-aid programme.

Queer cafés and gay mylk, by Holly Regan Holly Regan explores queer London spaces where the alternative – oat milk – is the norm for the communities gathering there.