Every Day Is Special: National Milk Day

Showing posts with label National Milk Day. Show all posts

November 26 - National Milk Day in India

Posted on November 26, 2020

Today is the birthday of "the father of the White Revolution."

"White Revolution"?

Dr. Verghese Kurien is also called the Milkman of India, and Wikipedia gives his occupation as a "social entrepreneur."

Kurien, who was born on this date in 1921, needed a scholarship to attend university, and apparently the only government scholarship left was one to study dairy engineering. But Kurien ended up "cheating" on the scholarship and - once he'd reached Michigan State University - studied metallurgical engineering and nuclear engineering! (Not necessarily the sort of "cheating" that means less work!)

Kurien returned to India with master's degree in mechanical engineering.

But the government still had Kurien pegged as a dairy guy, and he was sent to a run-down creamery. Dairy farmers in India, at that time, had a problem with having too much milk in some seasons and not enough milk in others, and the nation didn't have enough cows to meet its own dairy needs. Kurien started tinkering with primitive dairy equipment and ended up - with colleagues - pioneering a dairy co-op. With the collaboration Kurien helped build, the invention of making powdered milk, cheese, and condensed milk from buffalos' milk, rather than from cows' milk, was a game changer - because buffalo were plentiful!

When I say "buffalo" were plentiful,
don't think of American bison!
This is a photo of the buffalo commonly
used by dairy farmers in India.

Because of Kurien's work - along with all the other scientists and dairy workers - India went from being milk-deficient to being the world's largest dairy milk provider! In just 30 years, the milk output was multiplied by four!

More than that, Kurien also fought against multinational corporations like Nestle - and won! - and helped make India self-sufficient in edible oils because the "oil king" corporations used horrible and sometimes violent methods to maintain profits and market domination.

Also on this date:

Anniversary of the premiere of Casablanca

Birthday of Medal-of-Honor-winning surgeon Mary Edwards Walker

Anniversary of the first European spotting Maui

Anniversary of the first exhibition of a lion in America

Proclamation Day in Mongolia

Canada-on-Ice Day

Day of the Covenant in the Baha'i Faith

Birthday of inventor Willis Carrier

Anniversary of the death of illustrator and children's author Gyo Fujikawa

Argel Accord Day in Saõ Tóme and Príncipe

Constitution Day in India

Thanksgiving:

the first Thanksgiving

the history of Thanksgiving

traditional Thanksgiving menu items such as seals and eels

why some call this day the National Day of Mourning

little known facts about Thanksgiving

anniversary of Thanksgivukkah
Turkey-Free Thanksgiving

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

November holidays
November birthdays
Historical anniversaries in November

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

December holidays
December birthdays
Historical anniversaries in December

January 11 – National Milk Day

Posted on January 11, 2019

On this date in 1878, cow's milk began to be delivered to homes in the United States in sterilized glass bottles.

It's pretty hard to believe that, when I was growing up, there was a milkman who came to my house many days of the week. Do kids even know what "milkman" means, nowadays? Perhaps they think that was someone who milked cows?

Anyway, milk really can "do a body good." It is full of nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus, and magnesium, all of which are proven to help build and maintain strong bones; like riboflavin, vitamins B12 and A, zinc, thiamine, and selenium; like protein; like linoleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Why are so many people super skeptical of milk's health benefits? Why are internet memes like the one below so popular?

Some people don't like milk.
Some people don't easily tolerate dairy products, being lactose intolerant.
Some people point out that many common practices in the dairy industry are cruel.
Some people pride themselves on being vegan - which means not eating any of the food products from animals: including no meat, no eggs, and no dairy products.
Some people love to busy themselves with judging other people's food choices. I'm not sure why.

As many others have pointed out, "humans are the only species that..." is a silly argument. After all, humans are ALSO the only species that drinks a hot beverage made from steeping leaves in boiling water...and we're the only ones who make and eat fruit salad...and we're the only ones who travel by bicycle...and we're the only ones who make internet memes sneering at those who drink milk!

Or, as one Twitter user put it, "We're also the only species that drinks peach mango pineapple spirulina kale smoothies, Karen!"

Of course, there are some good reasons for some people to avoid dairy, including milk, but "Gross!" and "It's unnatural for humans to drink another species' milk" and "Humans are the only species that drinks milk after infancy" aren't good reasons. And finishing off any of those sillinesses with the false claim that "dairy is bad for you" is just wrong.

By the way, many people around the world drink milk - but certainly not all drink cow's milk. Here are some of the more common mammals whose milk people drink, other than cows:

Water buffalo

Goat