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Milk, from ground to glass

  • Series
A digital illustration of a farmer in a field holding dairy products. The farmer is a white male with a dark beard, he is sat on the ground under the branches of a large tree. In his right hand is a large plate with various types of cheese, in his left hand is a pail full of milk. In the foreground there are yellow dandelions and in the background we see rolling hills with fences and a small herd of cows.
Soil health and dairy farming in the UK. © Cat O'Neil for Wellcome Collection.

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 will examine 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.

About the editors

Head and shoulders photograph of a young woman with straight long dark hair wearing a heavy metal t-shirt.

Anna Sulan Masing

Dr Anna Sulan Masing is co-founder of SOURCED, and a writer, academic and poet. She is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Cheese magazine, and her podcast series, A Taste of Place by Whetstone Radio Collective launched in September 2022. Her debut book, Chinese And Other Asian, will be published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Head and shoulders photograph of a young woman, smiling, with her hair in a bun and large hoop earrings.

Chloe-Rose Crabtree

Chloe-Rose Crabtree is co-founder of SOURCED, and a chef, historian, writer and editor. She focuses her research on how food cultures develop and flourish. You can find her cooking and baking at Bake Street in Stoke Newington where they offer coffee, bakes and a changing menu of weekend specialties.

SOURCED

SOURCED is a public research project aimed at developing lines of inquiry into our relationships with food and drink. We believe food and drink are biological and cultural rights, and we want our global food and drink systems to reflect that through empathetic, transparent and inclusive practices. Led by professional multi-hyphenates Dr Anna Sulan Masing and Chloe-Rose Crabtree, the project takes an interdisciplinary approach to understand the intersection of culture and commerce in these systems.