As the saying goes: the old sow wears a bra, one set after another.
It shows that sows have more "pacifiers" to feed piglets.
Depending on the breed, sows have 8-16 such pacifiers. In comparison, there are only 4 cows.
Obviously, pigs have an innate advantage, and they are far ahead in the number of breeding, so why have we never drunk or bought pig milk?
Even the more niche camel milk, mare's milk and donkey milk have been produced on a large scale, and the price is not cheap.
Can you drink pig milk?
From a scientific point of view, pork can be eaten, and for the human body, pig milk can also be drunk.
As for what it tastes like? I can only ask those who have drunk it.
A small friend broke the news on the Internet: "When I was a child, I raised pigs at home, and when I got a piglet, I squeezed the bottom of a bowl, and it was bitter to drink." ”
Another friend said: "The taste is fishy, I tried to drink it and vomited!"
But some people say they can accept it, thinking that pig milk has a faint almond flavor, like almond milk.
Chef Edward Lee, who used to make cheese from pig's milk, described it as "delicious": it is saltier, creamier and more grainy than other cheeses.
Pig cheese is so highly rated that the pig cheese made by a farmer in the Netherlands sells for a sky-high price of $2,300 per kilogram, which is much higher than the most expensive cheese - Plea cheese.
Plea cheese is made from donkey milk and costs $1,300 per kilogram.
Is pig milk not nutritious?
In 2022, Chinese scientists conducted in-depth research on pig milk.
The research team believes that pig milk is milky white, similar to cow's milk and goat's milk, and is edible. However, the smell will be heavier than that of goat's milk, and it will look thinner than cow's milk.
After the analysis of nutritional composition, it is believed that the nutritional value of pig milk is very high.
There are almost all the nutrients in cow's milk, and there are several nutritional indicators that even exceed cow's milk.
For the same 100g milk, the protein content in pig milk is 17g, while the protein content in milk is only 3g, and the fat content in pig milk is 8.5g, while cow's milk is only 3.5g.
These figures will vary depending on the breed of pigs, but the overall trend will not change.
The following is the data published by China Agriculture Press on the comparison of different nutrients between pig milk, cow's milk and goat's milk.
Why are pigs only used for food and not for milk?
Since the nutritional content is not inferior to milk, why can't you find pig milk products on the market?
Generally speaking, pigs are used to produce milk and have no commercial value.
First of all, the pig does not like to be milked, it is fierce;
Pigs look stupid and silly, but in fact they are very strong in combat.
It was one of the first livestock to be domesticated by humans, but the wild boar genes in the body are still there. Studies have shown that there has always been genetic exchange between domestic pigs and wild boars, and there is no reproductive isolation between them.
This means that even domestic pigs are as tough as wild boars, and domestic pigs have attacked humans from time to time.
In 2021, it was reported that a 69-year-old farmer abroad went out to feed pigs and never returned. His family found part of the wreckage in the pigsty. In the absence of eyewitnesses, it was impossible to tell whether the old man had fallen and been eaten or had died as a result of the assault.
In 2023, a 66-year-old man in Heilongjiang suddenly fainted while feeding pigs, and was finally attacked by wild boars.
It can be seen that domestic pigs are not as tame as cows, and the slightest disobedience can harm humans.
After giving birth to piglets, some studies believe that sows will also have postpartum depression, at this time the sow is very aggressive, cub behavior, coupled with depression, combat effectiveness is even more explosive, milking is obviously very dangerous.
Secondly, pig milk production is too low;
Although the sow has 8-16 "teats", the yield is very low per sow.
Unlike pigs, cows and sheep have milk pools, and the milk secreted can be stored, and when the cubs want to feed, they can suck and eat at any time. But pigs have no milk pool, and they can only be born if they want to eat.
Under the stimulation of the piglets, the sow secretes milk, and it usually takes 2-5 minutes before the piglets can eat.
Finally, I was able to drink milk, and the amount was not much at one time.
The time for sows to secrete milk is generally only 15 seconds, and the amount is relatively small at one time, but the frequency is high, and it can be fed again every 1 hour.
In contrast, cows can be milked for 10 minutes at a time, milking two or three times a day to achieve a yield of 30 kilograms, while sows can reach a maximum of about 5 kilograms a day.
The most important thing is that cows produce milk, especially commercial cows, basically all year round, with a milk production period of up to 10 months (about 300 days), and milk production at the same time as pregnancy, while pigs only lactate for 2 months.
Cows can only rest for 2 months before giving birth, which is also called the dry milk period.
It is not because it can't produce milk, but in order to protect the cow's body and let it give birth to calves smoothly, human intervention has a dry milk period, and the purpose is to maximize benefits.
However, the sow will not lactate again after pregnancy, and the lactation period is only 2 months a year, even if there are 2 litters a year, the yield is not as high as that of cows.
Even smaller sheep produce more than pigs per year.
The daily milk production of ewes is actually lower than that of sows, about 3.5 kg a day, but the lactation period is more than 240 days, and the annual production naturally rises.
All of the above reasons are enough to prove that pig milk is not suitable for commercial production.
Sows can give birth to 5-12 piglets in a litter, and sometimes self-sufficiency is not possible. If all this milk is given to people, the piglets will starve to death, and obviously this is a loss-making business.
A piglet, whether it is sold or raised and then sold, brings much higher economic value than milking pigs, and it is much more convenient.
The reason why the pork milk cheese mentioned at the beginning is so expensive, one of the reasons is that it is delicious, and the most important thing is that it is rare.
According to reports, the producer hired more than 10 people to milk the sows and worked for more than 40 hours before finally producing these kilograms of cheese.
At last
However, sows should be thankful that they only exist as pigs.
Because the situation of commercial cows is not good, you must know that cows can produce milk because, like people, they only have it after giving birth. A cow is not born with milk.
The milk we drink is actually the calf's ration.
As long as the body allows, the cow will always be in the cycle of pregnancy.
Pregnancy and childbirth - forced to separate from the calf and supply milk to humans - artificial insemination - 2 months of rest during the dry milk period - rebirth.
On days like this, cows go through 4-5 years, after which the amount of milk decreases and is gradually eliminated.
At least as a pig, you can go more simply, and you don't have to suffer from it!