Now I'm wondering whether other mammals tend to be lactose intolerant once they get out of babyhood. Adult cats will still drink milk, right? But I don't think I've ever seen anyone give milk to a dog. Most mammals in the wild would have no reason to keep producing lactase once they're weaned, but I wonder if they do anyway.

Hmm. I must google.

Edit: OK, found a bunch of articles saying that most mammals stop producing lactase after weaning.

It sure seems that nature intends for babies to stop suckling at some point, and there'd be no other source of milk after suckling (in nature).

Cats will drink milk but it totally upsets their stomach. They just don't care.

Dogs will eat ice cream. I'm sure that means that they'll drink milk if you let them.

Lucy loved milk. She didn't get it often because I don't drink it, but at my dad's she'd muscle the cat out of the way when she got milk.

My parents' dog gets the very end of their cereal bowls every morning, and loves it. Also ice cream. They're the most indulgent dog owners in the world.

I don't give Brandy milk. She does get her pills in a bit of cheese which she loves. The cat sits and stares at the boys until they submit and let her pre-wash the cereal bowls. We call it pre-washing in our house when the dishes go on the floor for the animals. They do a good job of it too.

In news about my upcoming soup, the canned broth I had was with roasted garlic. I hope that wasn't a mistake.

I'm making the Pioneer Woman's apple dumplings for a party tonight, and the recipe calls for 2 cans of crescent rolls. Because I was looking at the price and not the cans, I came thisclose to buying garlic crescent rolls.

THAT would have been a taste sensation.

Heh. A commercial just came on TV informing us that a glass of 2% milk has more saturated fat than a small order of fries.

This makes me laugh, because I switched from skim and/or 1% milk when I lived alone to 2% when I moved in with The Boy 2-ish years ago. And it just so happens that my cholesterol has dropped about 15% in those 2 years.

The amount of saturated fat in 1 glass of 2% milk is not going to be the deciding factor in the vast vast vast majority of heart disease patients.

Now we go through a gallon of creamline milk

What's creamline milk?

Because I was looking at the price and not the cans, I came thisclose to buying garlic crescent rolls.

THAT would have been a taste sensation.

Mmm... garlic apple dumplings! Maybe if they were more savory and served with pork?

I know several dogs who loooove cheese.

As for genetic vs cultural things, I know that the plural of anecdote is not data, but I know plenty of Ashkenazi Jews (including most of my family) who grew up in the American culture of having several glasses of milk a day and still ended up lactose intolerant by the middle of elementary school.

That's interesting anecdotal evidence, Hil, but by the same token, I know plenty of Cubans/Latinos, including myself, who grew up not only having the American culture of several glasses of milk a day but also having many culturally traditional milk-based drinks and foods, such as café con leche, flans and puddings, and never having an issue.

As far as the ethnic make up of Cubans, you've got a mélange of native islanders, African, Southern European, Canary Islanders (I include them as separate from African because for all I know they could be ethnically different), plus an influx of Asian (Chinese) and Jew, but those are mostly within the last 100-150 years and relatively small, so the genetic impact is probably not too strong yet.

The pamphlet was a compilation from several studies and some of the statistics were over a decade old. Whether or not that matters, I don't know, nor really, do I care. I was just kind of startled by the blanket statement about blacks and Latinos.

The amount of saturated fat in 1 glass of 2% milk is not going to be the deciding factor in the vast vast vast majority of heart disease patients.

Exactly.

Of course lots of pets love drinking milk! Lots of dogs will eat cat poop if they have the chance! You're gonna trust their judgment? Liking something does not mean it's good for you.