engleski

‘Interspecies Milk Production in Croatia: A Difference in Approaches

In anthropological studies on nonhuman milk production, the focus of analytical interest is often on the product itself, the milk, as well as the human activity surrounding its production. With the exception of those accounts that focus on the role of microbes in cheese-making (e.g. Paxson 2009, 2013), this means that nonhumans regularly become a part of the backdrop of scholarly analysis rather than being the central focus. Yet, in contrast, in studies on human milk production, the experiences of lactating mothers are frequently of primary interest to scholars (e.g. Faircloth 2013). Building on this observation, in this paper I offer a comparison of cow, sheep, donkey, goat and human milk production in Croatia. Here, I draw out how in ‘everyday’ milk production very different approaches are taken on the basis of species, for instance how milk is shared with others, or how mastitis is treated. This, I argue, serves to further reinforce the apparent human-nonhuman divide. In the final part of this paper, I go on to ask whether an analytical approach could be taken that puts nonhumans in a more central position in anthropological studies of milk production.

Milk, human–microbe relations, Croatia, Pasteurianism

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