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Discovery Brings Us One Step Closer To "Milking" Pigeons

Are you tired of boring old milk in your cereal? Is the half and half in your coffee leaving you flat? If so, the recent discovery of the gene responsible for pigeon crop "lactation" might be the good news you've been waiting for. While mammals are the only animals that produce true milk, a number of birds produce a nutritious, liquid "crop milk" for their chicks. From the article: "The idea of drinking pigeon milk may bring a shudder to every sane and rational person in the world, but it's actually quite nutritious. Although it's high in fat, to help the young squabs develop fast, it's also packed full of antioxidants and immune-system-boosting proteins."

190 comments

  1. Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No thanks!

    1. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      Is that any more gross then Cows Milk? Or any Milk as of a matter.

      I am not a Vegan or a Vegetarian, and I do enjoy drinking milk.
      But the fact that we are drinking an other animals body fluids is a bit gross, if you think too much about it.
      But so is if you thinking when you eat an Fruit that you are Eating a plants Reproductive Organ. The fact if you eat a carrot or some other vegetable a full life form needed to die in order to keep you alive.

      Many plants have a much more complex Genome then us animals do, in many ways they are far more evolved then we are.
      Yes us animals to survive we need to do things if you think about it is rather cruel and/or disgusting in order for us to survive.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    2. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by ShavedOrangutan · · Score: 1

      Thanks for ruining fruit for me.

      It's hard enough to drink milk without thinking about where it came from.

      --
      Godaddy is a scam and a ripoff.
    3. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pigeons? Why not just milk rats? No need to genetically modify them and they are just as disgusting.

    4. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by durrr · · Score: 1

      "Both male and female adult birds produce crop milk and share in the feeding and care of the young."
      Now not only would pigeon milk be regurgitated, it could even be man-milk!

    5. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by pr0f3550r · · Score: 2
      While we're at it, let's ruin honey for you too. The only thing better than eating eating the reproductive bits and embryos of plants is to eat the regurgitated spit of insects which concentrate the sweet, sticky juices of those same reproductive organs of those plants at the height of their sexual potency and expression.

      Sweet!

    6. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's hot

    7. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does Milk make you capitalize words Randomly?

    8. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by danlock4 · · Score: 1

      I am not a Vegan or a Vegetarian, and I do enjoy drinking milk.

      Does that mean you are a Venusian? I knew you'd be visiting soon, most kind and venerated ones.

      hehe :)

      --
      To .sig or not to .sig, that is the question.
    9. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 2

      You are doomed to a nervous, horrible death. I hope no one ever tells you what goes into the average supermarket hotdog.

      --
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    10. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by cheekyjohnson · · Score: 1

      The fact if you eat a carrot or some other vegetable a full life form needed to die in order to keep you alive.

      I don't think many people care about a plant (something that, to us, doesn't visibly feel pain or have any sort of intelligence) dying.

      --
      Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
    11. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by LibRT · · Score: 1

      Ya, I've often wondered at what point the first human decided, "Hmmm. There's some white fluid coming out of those penis-looking things under that cow. I ought to get a mouthful of that!" It's left me eating my Lucky Charms magically dry...

    12. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by TheLink · · Score: 1

      At least with fruit the plant does "want" you to eat it ;).

      In contrast think about a "US breakfast" of
      fried slice belly of pig, aborted chicken embryos, mashed grass seeds digested by yeast and toasted. Now add cheese, yoghurt, waffles/pancakes and honey :).

      I think it's a good idea for people to know what they are eating. That way they'd at least regularly realize that some poor animal died so they could have fried chicken etc.

      --
    13. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      When you are back in them olden time. You either ate/drank everything off the animal you can or you died from starvation because who know when the next time you can eat.

      If it didn't kill you, and it was soft enough to chew. Then they ate it.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    14. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by LibRT · · Score: 1

      You could well be right, but I don't think so, for a couple of reasons:

      - you need a live cow to drink its milk, don't you? That means you're not hungry enough to kill the cow and eat it but are rather patient (and presumably well-fed) enough to keep the cow around and forgo its meat in exchange for the milk;

      - if I recall, the subset of humans capable of tolerating lactose only arose around 9,000 years ago, and it's still a relatively uncommon trait (ie more people are lactose intolerant than not).

    15. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by operagost · · Score: 2

      aborted chicken embryos

      Unfertilized.

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    16. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well as some wine or beer lovers say: "Water? No, thanks. Fish sh%t in it."

      Do you know where your atoms have been?

      If you're going to milk a Pigeon, make it a healthy pigeon.

    17. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      if you think that's gross.. you haven't been on the internet long enough

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    18. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Genda · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure a bright hominid noticed that female mammals lactate (starting with Mom and then his wife as she fed his progeny.) It doesn't take any imagination to presume he did a little taste testing first with his wife... found it Hhhmmmm? Not bad. Then tried collecting the milk of cows, goats, sheep, probably anything that wouldn't bite his hand off when he tried to milk it (namely herbivores for the most part, Ogg likes the wolf milk but has a hard time drinking it from his left stump.)

      The real kick was when he found out you could add things to milk to get cheese (the curdling agent is called rennet and you're better off not knowing what the most common rennets are), which was a tremendously more concentrated food, and would easily store for weeks, months, even years. That and with dozens of different ingredients and hundreds of different bacteria and molds to choose from, there was a endless supply of vastly different colors, flavors, and textures to make cheese into.

      Can you make pidgeon cheese and is it good on a burger?

    19. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by kryliss · · Score: 1

      Other species of humans may have died off when they tried to milk the bull.....

      --
      --- If the bible proves the existence of God, then Superman comics prove the existence of Superman.
    20. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Thuktun · · Score: 1

      Well as some wine or beer lovers say: "Water? No, thanks. Fish sh%t in it."

      Beer is made with that same water. While the water in wine has been filtered through a plant, both wine and beer are full of yeast excrement.

    21. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Inconexo · · Score: 1

      I think our hipersentiveness is already going too far.

    22. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Zancarius · · Score: 1

      I think it's a good idea for people to know what they are eating. That way they'd at least regularly realize that some poor animal died so they could have fried chicken etc.

      Perhaps "regularly" reminding consumers they're eating cooked, dead animal carcasses might be of some use to ethical vegetarians/vegans, but for the rest of us: Animals are damn tasty.

      --
      He who has no .plan has small finger. ~ Confucius on UNIX
    23. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Usually yes :).

      At least it's not balut...

    24. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by TheLink · · Score: 1

      Maybe some of us keep eating animals so that PETA will keep providing us porn ;) :

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/21/peta-plans-porn-website_n_972497.html

      --
    25. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Caesar+Tjalbo · · Score: 1

      Plants, insects shit on them. Traditional wine making involved people walking through the grapes to crush them.

      --
      "I'm not much interested in interoperability. I want substitutability. I want to be able to throw your software out."
    26. Re:Pigeon Crap Lactation?? by Zancarius · · Score: 1

      Maybe some of us keep eating animals so that PETA will keep providing us porn ;) :

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/21/peta-plans-porn-website_n_972497.html

      Hah!

      I somehow suspect that's unlikely to achieve the desired result.

      --
      He who has no .plan has small finger. ~ Confucius on UNIX
  2. All you need to know about pigeon milk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is that it is pigeon vomit.

    1. Re:All you need to know about pigeon milk by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 2

      Highly nutritious pigeon vomit!

      --
      May the Maths Be with you!
    2. Re:All you need to know about pigeon milk by nomel · · Score: 1

      Would you feel better about eating doves?

      Pigeons are domesticated birds brought here from Europe...for eating.

      Here's a Scientific America podcast about it all: Superdove!: The Straight Poop on Pigeons.

  3. But... by fragfoo · · Score: 1, Informative

    Pigeons are infested with diseases and like to live in the middle of their own crap and other filthiness. Oh wait, so do cows! :(

    --
    Sig? Heil
    1. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well I keep the cows on my farm very clean, I don't know where you get the idea that cows live in their crap and other filth. It's a misconception that cows sit in their own dung, I can send you 24 hour surveillance videos of my cattle and prove they never do that.

    2. Re:But... by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Spycam videos of cows going to the bathroom? Pervert.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    3. Re:But... by royallthefourth · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's why I only drink human milk. It can be tough to find, but you can find pretty much anything on Craigslist.

    4. Re:But... by fragfoo · · Score: 1

      I trust what you say true. But in the case of small family farmers that i have seen they do sit on their dung when they are chained to something and have no other place to lie down. So it may not happen in more professional farms like your seems to be but happens on small rural farms.

      --
      Sig? Heil
    5. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These guys should have some for you.

    6. Re:But... by rubycodez · · Score: 4, Interesting

      You have things exactly backwards. I don't know where you saw such lazy, filthy unprofessional dairy farmers, but I can assure you the norm is for family operations to want the highest ratings in inspections of farm, cows, and testing of milk. I have relatives and friends who are dairy farmers and they run a very clean tight ship and take supreme care of their animals. It is normally the huge corporate farms with underpaid help who have the problems because executives in a building in a city far away don't know farming and don't give a crap. Don't even get me started on massive chicken or hog farms (again, many friends and relatives in the business)....let's just say you definitely would want the small farm product rather than corporate swill.

    7. Re:But... by ShavedOrangutan · · Score: 1

      Misc Romance or Casual Encounters? Or is there some dark subsection of Farm & Garden that I don't know about?

      --
      Godaddy is a scam and a ripoff.
    8. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Guys? I'm too fearful to click on that link

    9. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Farmville doesn't count.

    10. Re:But... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      I can send you 24 hour surveillance videos of my cattle

      I can't tell from your post - are you a farmer, or a member of congress?

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    11. Re:But... by dkleinsc · · Score: 1

      It makes sense on a bunch of levels: For starters, each cow / hog / bird is more important to a smaller farmer than a big one, because each one represents a higher percentage of the total business. Also, the farmer (who, as you pointed out, is the owner and is on the scene working) has the time and attention to really devote to getting his farm in the best possible shape. Lastly, the smaller operations generally are much better about ensuring the proper amount of land for each animal, and preventing overgrazing, because most of them are looking to have a farm worth something when it's time to retire. The large corporate operations don't care about any of that, and the results show.

      And I've only did a bit of farm work, but there was a very clear difference between the good farms and the not-good ones.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    12. Re:But... by PwnzerDragoon · · Score: 1

      Believe it or not, the last one. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/05/ff_milk/

    13. Re:But... by MokuMokuRyoushi · · Score: 1

      What rubycodez said. My family actually raised dairy goats when I was younger, and though goats tend to be six times more demonic and messier to boot, they had clean hooves(well, clean of poo) and healthy quarters, 24/7. Plus, they were never chained o.O. I don't know where you were seeing all this, but it's definitely not the norm.

      --
      Humans are terrible replicators of Godly things.
    14. Re:But... by _0xd0ad · · Score: 1

      There is no way anyone (FDA, USDA, etc) is going to let that go on for very long. What with them shutting down dairies for selling unpasteurized milk or cheese, or fining a family over $90,000 because they sold more than $500 worth of rabbits in a year, I'm surprised they haven't been shut down already.

    15. Re:But... by toadlife · · Score: 1

      My son's first grade class took a field trip to a family run dairy last Spring. Thousands of adult cows lived cramped under a large semi-indoor structure with concrete floors. Every few hours they would wash the accumulated shit out huge high pressure hoses and sweep it all into a nearby "pond".

      The dozens of baby cows were placed in 4x6x4 cages, and injected with antibiotics regularly to keep the mange-like sores all over their bodies from spreading too far.

      Did I mention this was a "family run" dairy? They've been in business for decades, so I have to assume that they do just fine on their inspections.

      --
      I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
    16. Re:But... by operagost · · Score: 1

      Were the cows allowed to go out and graze? They don't "live" in the shed; they weather there. And I'm glad they flushed out the manure so frequently. I'm sure you'd prefer they be given flush toilets, but getting 1,500 pound dairy cows to sit on one is tricky.
      It's a shame about the antibiotics, but it beats letting the "mange" spread as you implied. I note that he didn't see antibiotics being administered to the adults.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    17. Re:But... by toadlife · · Score: 1

      Were the cows allowed to go out and graze?

      There was a separate outside pen where there were about 50 adult cows, but the other 1000 or so were inside. I'm not sure if that is considered grazing.

      I note that he didn't see antibiotics being administered to the adults.

      Well that would be a big no-no. If milk comes up with even a trace of antibiotics when tested, the entire tank that the milk came from has to be thrown away. The owner of the dairy's daughter who was giving us the tour was openly complaining about that particular regulation, which was troubling to me.

      --
      I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
    18. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Considering that males can sell their bodily fluids, I, as a male, would say that selling of female bodily fluids should be legal.

      And I'm not even breast fetishist!

    19. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Could be under parenting and baby needs. You'd be surprised how many neonatal clinics and childcare centers will take extra milk from women who are nursing and still have extra to give. (Like blood donation, they're going to want somebody who screens clean of drugs and diseases.) I wouldn't be surprised if there are some ladies willing to take cash for it without asking instead of giving it away as a donation.

    20. Re:But... by Thuktun · · Score: 1

      Thousands of adult cows [...]

      That must be a hell of a large family. The family-run dairy farms I've visited—including my aunt and uncle's when they still had one—had at most dozens of animals.

      Maybe you meant "family owned".

    21. Re:But... by fragfoo · · Score: 1

      You're not getting it... I'm talking about farmers with about 5 cows who use the same methods as 100+ years ago when it was common practise, so hygiene is not the best. This probably doesn't exist in your country, anymore, but this planet is bigger than your country.

      --
      Sig? Heil
    22. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and you can play with the bottles when you have finished!

    23. Re:But... by SleazyRidr · · Score: 1

      It's NPR, it can't be that bad. (Of course I'm too scared to click the link as well...)

  4. It might be white... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...but dude, seriously, that's not milk.

    1. Re:It might be white... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Milk comes from tits and nipple. Pigeon don't have nipples.

    2. Re:It might be white... by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      It's not a true milk, but it serves an identical function: It's a liquid produced by the parent to feed the young. Milky enough.

    3. Re:It might be white... by biodata · · Score: 2

      Nipples are just modified sweat glands, so milk is really just sweat with a different balance of ingredients. Is pigeon vomit any more disgusting than cow sweat?

      --
      Korma: Good
  5. I bet it goes down well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I bet it goes down well with the Shitburgers from a few months back.

    1. Re:I bet it goes down well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That doesn't sound kosher.

  6. April 1st? by Dan+East · · Score: 1

    I actually checked the date to be sure.

    --
    Better known as 318230.
    1. Re:April 1st? by HermDog · · Score: 1

      I'm not drinking 6-month-old milk. I don't care where it came from.

      --
      JADBP
    2. Re:April 1st? by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 1

      I don't know why but this reminded me of that stupid joke: Have you ever smelled moth balls? ...

      --
      -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
  7. Excuse me? by camperdave · · Score: 4, Funny

    Pigeon Milk? Seriously? That's what they're working on?

    How about working on a way to keep them from crapping all over my balcony? I've begun calling it the poop deck.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    1. Re:Excuse me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That one was solved quite some time ago, it's called a shotgun.

    2. Re:Excuse me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not crap, it's "crop milk" and you're letting this perfectly nutritious liquid spoil and go to waste right there on your deck. You should devise some sort of way to capture said milk so you can store it and use it in your coffee and cereal. Imagine the money you'd save on that plain old, ordinary cow's milk...how boring!

    3. Re:Excuse me? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      Cleaning up the blood and entrails from your balcony isn't much of an improvement...

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    4. Re:Excuse me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pigeon Milk? Seriously? That's what they're working on?

      How about working on a way to keep them from crapping all over my balcony? I've begun calling it the poop deck.

      Once pigeons are gainfully employed, puking into milk cartons, they will rent or buy their own homes, putting an end to the pigeon homeless problem and their indiscriminate crapping all over the place.

      Of course, we may start having problems with unemployed cows in our streets, but at least they can't fly.

    5. Re:Excuse me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about working on a way to keep them from crapping all over my balcony? I've begun calling it the poop deck.

      Falconry.

    6. Re:Excuse me? by failedlogic · · Score: 1

      Place a milk jug on one of those Got Milk? posters on your balcony. You'll soon find some milk from an alternative source to use for delicious cereal, coffee and baked goods.

      Reply to my post and let us /.'ers know how it tastes. Since you almost have first post, you should have first taste.

    7. Re:Excuse me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you read the article? "Milk" is a euphemism.

  8. Sane and Rational Problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "The idea of drinking pigeon milk may bring a shudder to every sane and rational person in the world"

    If you drink cow's milk (or goat's milk, or any non-human milk), then I think it's only an emotional problem if you shudder at drinking Pigeon's milk. Rationally, it shouldn't be an issue at all.

    Maybe this post was brought to you by the Dairy Farmers of America - I notice there's no mention of milk or "half and half" being sourced from a cow. Let's just think of it as "milk" and leave it at that, all warm and fuzzy.

    1. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by slim · · Score: 1

      The Glastonbury Festival is held on what is for the rest of the year a working dairy farm. The festival peopled by a mixture of mainstream music fans and old-school hippies, including, of course, a number of militant vegetarians and vegans.

      Every morning, a truck circulates the campsites selling pints of milk. One year, upon the tailgate of the truck, was sprayed "MILK: RAPED FROM COWS".

      To this day, I don't know whether it was written there in earnest, or in jest. It could so easily be either.

      But yeah, balking at pigeon milk is as irrational as spurning horse meat.

    2. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      Yea lets free the cows... Oh wait they have been bread over thousands of years to produce more milk, by us not milking them they will die a slow and painful death, from udder infections.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    3. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by nedlohs · · Score: 2

      Drinking something that your ancestors have drunk for thousands of years but balking at something new is not irrational. Boring sure, but rational.

      Once it is shown to be safe - which depending on your level of trust might mean waiting a few generations - it would be irrational. Well maybe once it is shown to have some benefit over the traditional item too.

    4. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1

      One year, upon the tailgate of the truck, was sprayed "MILK: RAPED FROM COWS". To this day, I don't know whether it was written there in earnest, or in jest. It could so easily be either.

      Like all our fellow mammals, cows only give milk when they have young to feed. To keep dairy cows producing, they are repeatedly inseminated; most of their offspring are slaughtered so that people can eat their flesh, while a few of their daughters are allowed to live for a few years in the same enslavement as their mothers before meeting the same fate when they can no longer produce. The natural lifespan of a cow is 20-25 years, but with this exploitation burning out their usefulness to humans most are slaughtered before reaching a third of that.

      "Raped from cows"? Not exactly how I would phrase it, but not (given a bit of rhetorical license) inaccurate.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    5. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Won't you EVER learn to spell? You really come off as juvenile.

    6. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not exactly how I would phrase it

      But you'd use "enslavement".

    7. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by Zinho · · Score: 2

      It gets better: rennet, the enzyme used to make cheese, is extracted from these slaughtered calves' stomachs. So if you're against the production of milk due to it causing the slaughter of newborn bovine then stop eating cheese, too. I'll assume that if you're the type to do this, though, that you've already avoided veal on principle.

      As for me, I drink milk, I eat cheese, and I avoid veal only because it costs too much. I'm fine with "exploiting" cows for their milk, and insemination to encourage lactation is good animal husbandry. Good tasting meat and well cultured cheese being a byproduct is a benefit in my opinion, not a fault. As long as the animals aren't treated cruelly during life I don't have an ethical or moral objection to the practice. Feel free to join PETA if you disagree, just don't be surprised if I stand with the farmers when you come to "liberate" their livestock.

      --
      "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
    8. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by _0xd0ad · · Score: 1

      It gets better: rennet, the enzyme used to make cheese, is extracted from these slaughtered calves' stomachs. So if you're against the production of milk due to it causing the slaughter of newborn bovine then stop eating cheese, too.

      Um, I imagine if you're against the production of milk you're probably already avoiding cheese...

    9. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by Zinho · · Score: 1

      It gets better: rennet, the enzyme used to make cheese, is extracted from these slaughtered calves' stomachs. So if you're against the production of milk due to it causing the slaughter of newborn bovine then stop eating cheese, too.

      Um, I imagine if you're against the production of milk you're probably already avoiding cheese...

      You know, when you put it that way...

      Seriously, though, my point (awkwardly put, as you pointed out), was that cheese was a double whammy - not only is milk production causing more calves to be born than is natural, but the production of cheese requires the slaughter of those same calves. The people who think that veal production is the only reason calves are slaughtered are often ignorant of the veal-cheese connection. But, yeah, for people who would rather go veg than drink milk over the veal thing this would be yet another reason, not reason #1.

      --
      "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
    10. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by _0xd0ad · · Score: 1

      There's actually artificial rennet that can be used in cheesemaking, but you'd still be stuck with the issue of milk production.

    11. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by Zinho · · Score: 1

      I was going to argue with you over this, but then I re-read the wiki page I linked to earlier and got depressed. It turns out that in the US we're at something like 80-90% of cheese manufactured using artificial rennet (obtained from genetically modified bacteria). There's no way that using just chymosin expressed by bacteria gets the same result as actual rennet from real calves (which contains other important enzymes like pepsin and lipase, balanced by evolution for the mother's milk).

      I'm not sure I buy the argument from the GM industry that natural rennet isn't sufficient for the national cheese demand, it's probably just cheaper. At least I have an excuse to give for my snobbish disdain for US-produced cheeses.

      tl, dr: you were right, and my initial point about cheese being derived from animal cruelty is 10% moot and 90% invalid.

      --
      "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
    12. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And now you know where "American" cheese comes from.

    13. Re:Sane and Rational Problem? by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      No I will not.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  9. Looks like Lee and Herring were right... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzCbf-pylEc

  10. Fokkers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fokker: You can milk anything that has n______s.

    Future Dad in law: I have n______s. can you milk me?

    1. Re:Fokkers? by slim · · Score: 1

      "Nipples" is now censorship fodder? Come on.

      Pigeons, however, don't have nipples. The "milk" arises in the crop. RTFA.

    2. Re:Fokkers? by overlordofmu · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Fuck", "cunt", "cock" and "prolapsed asshole" are not censorship fodder on slashdot. Nor is "nipple".

      Unless you are an AC. I fucking hate ACs.

    3. Re:Fokkers? by martas · · Score: 0

      Talk about unnecessary censorship, for a moment there I was wondering what ownership of African slave labor has anything to do with lactation...

    4. Re:Fokkers? by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 0

      Worst. Mad-Lib. Ever.

    5. Re:Fokkers? by _0xd0ad · · Score: 1

      Really... I was wondering what the dried goo that I pick out of my nostrils has to do with milk.

    6. Re:Fokkers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Nipples" is now censorship fodder?

      Maybe so! I just noticed yesterday that my local hard rock radio station is now apparently censoring the word "masturbation" in Green Day's "Longview". I blame the Grand Old Taliban party.

    7. Re:Fokkers? by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Technically, yes. See "Milk: The Mammary Gland and Its Secretion" by Cowry, et al. (IIRC) Males have functional mammary glands, that can secrete milk under the influence of certain hormones (especially prolactin), and rarely with physical stimulation (suckling).

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  11. Disgust is Irrational by doconnor · · Score: 1

    "The idea of drinking pigeon milk may bring a shudder to every sane and rational person in the world"

    There is nothing rational about that shudder. The disgust comes from our outdated and inaccurate instincts that come from a time before we understood infectious disease (like when we where Homo habilis).

    Only sane and rational people can push past the shudder and have a drink. Unfortunately that significantly limits the market for this.

    1. Re:Disgust is Irrational by royallthefourth · · Score: 1

      What the hell are you talking about? It's totally rational to expect that vomit from a filthy wild animal is itself filthy and therefore not something worth ingesting.

    2. Re:Disgust is Irrational by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      The human sense of disgust is half-instinctive, half-cultural, and sometimes surprising. There's an old experiment often performed on TV, involving preparing delicious chocolate treats in the shape of dog turds just to see who can stand to eat them. Everyone knows that it's just chocolate - it's perfectly safe, and has never passed through a dog. And yet many people just really struggle to do it.

    3. Re:Disgust is Irrational by Xzzy · · Score: 1

      All animals are filthy. Yet we still eat a number of them.

      Veggies and fruits are probably filthy too, on some level.

      So I guess Jules was right, it all comes down to personality.

    4. Re:Disgust is Irrational by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And you would have a point if a) this were vomit, and b) the animal was wild and filthy. But it's not, and it's not, so you don't

    5. Re:Disgust is Irrational by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's an old experiment often performed on TV, involving preparing delicious chocolate treats in the shape of dog turds just to see who can stand to eat them.

      We have those in Australia, they're called "Picnic" bars.

    6. Re:Disgust is Irrational by Rolgar · · Score: 1

      Considering the size of pigeons, and the amount of milk you can get out of one, as well as the time it will take to hook one up to get the milk, I imagine the price will be pretty high in order to pay for the retrieval of the milk, which will further reduce the demand.

      Note: The summary says 'Although high in fat' indicating that's a point against it. Fat is a nutritional positive. It makes you feel full which will limit the amount you eat to feel full. Your body uses fat in very important ways. Your body does not store fat in fat cells. Your body makes fat out of carbohydrates, namely wheat products, corn products, and potatoes. I've switched to the primal diet, although I cheat, and I've lost at least 10 pounds of fat in the last few months.

    7. Re:Disgust is Irrational by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1

      Veggies and fruits are probably filthy too, on some level.

      You can and should wash and scrub veggies and fruits. You can't wash Listeria out of milk, and it's hard to scrub the campylobacter off of chicken flesh.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    8. Re:Disgust is Irrational by somersault · · Score: 1

      Your body does store fat in fat cells - that's why they're called fat cells :p

      Of course, your dietary fat doesn't just get magically put there without being converted to blood sugar first. I eat a low GI diet. Wholemeal carbs are fine. It's only refined carbs that you should avoid.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    9. Re:Disgust is Irrational by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The idea of drinking pigeon milk may bring a shudder to every sane and rational person in the world"

      There is nothing rational about that shudder. The disgust comes from our outdated and inaccurate instincts that come from a time before we understood infectious disease (like when we where Homo habilis).

      Only sane and rational people can push past the shudder and have a drink. Unfortunately that significantly limits the market for this.

      "The idea of drinking pigeon milk may bring a shudder to every sane and rational person in the world"

      There is nothing rational about that shudder. The disgust comes from our outdated and inaccurate instincts that come from a time before we understood infectious disease (like when we where Homo habilis).

      Only sane and rational people can push past the shudder and have a drink. Unfortunately that significantly limits the market for this.

      Actually if you think about it, humans drinking cows milk is disgusting. You are brought up through your childhood doing this and it becomes normal. Im sure if we started feeding the next generation rat milk, that too would become normal.

    10. Re:Disgust is Irrational by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's also hard to rinse the E. Coli out of spinach and the salmonella out of lettuce.

    11. Re:Disgust is Irrational by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Close. We don't see cows every day, and they're domesticated creatures. We typically determine the living conditions of the animal, test them for disease, and check the product. We also go to great lengths to keep the process clean and then use pasteurization to protect us.

      Nothing about this describes our interactions with pigeons, which are (kinda) wild animals that live in their own feces and root around loose human refuse. They're presently a nuisance, to such a degree that we come up with bizarre ways to collect lots of them for destruction.

      So sure, I'd wager they can manage to raise clean, healthy creatures, develop and implement a clean way to harvest the product and subject it to the processes we use to ensure safety in other kinds of milk. That's just not the life of a pigeon that we're familiar with yet.

      And no, I'm not going to be an early adopter on all that.

    12. Re:Disgust is Irrational by Tomato42 · · Score: 1

      Yes, after they have been throughly checked and, in most cases, domesticated.

  12. So where's the pigeon nipples located? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Something tells me I don't want to know...

    1. Re:So where's the pigeon nipples located? by Megane · · Score: 1

      I had to look it up since avian anatomy isn't common knowledge aside from which piece is which in a bucket o' KFC.

      It's the part of their esophagus that can store food for later regurgitation to their chicks. So basically they throw it up. Wikipedia also describes it as looking like "pale yellow cottage cheese".

      Yum.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    2. Re:So where's the pigeon nipples located? by Megane · · Score: 1

      I apparently messed the link to crop.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  13. Obligatory movie reference for milking by jht · · Score: 1

    "Hey, I hope you don't mind, I got up a little early, so I took the liberty of milking your cow for you. Yeah, it took a little while to get her warmed up, she sure is a stubborn one, whew."

    "We don't have a cow. We have a bull."

    "I'm gonna brush my teeth."

    --
    -- Josh Turiel
    "2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
    1. Re:Obligatory movie reference for milking by themightythor · · Score: 1

      I was thinking more of the scene from "Meet the Parents" where Greg explains how he milks a cat.

    2. Re:Obligatory movie reference for milking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      King pin?

    3. Re:Obligatory movie reference for milking by muyla · · Score: 1

      Simpsons, where they milk rats to sell to the school

    4. Re:Obligatory movie reference for milking by Mister+Whirly · · Score: 1

      MALK - Now with vitamin R!

      --
      "But this one goes to 11!"
  14. Shudder? by Hentes · · Score: 1

    I have a relative who breeds pigeons. They are not even close to those infected zombies you see in a city. In fact, they are much closer to a chicken in size. And they are delicious.

    1. Re:Shudder? by muyla · · Score: 1

      Your relative, my friend, must be the biggest winner in the redneck gameses history!

    2. Re:Shudder? by Hentes · · Score: 1

      I'm not American.

    3. Re:Shudder? by gauauu · · Score: 1

      I have a relative who breeds pigeons. They are not even close to those infected zombies you see in a city. In fact, they are much closer to a chicken in size. And they are delicious.

      I agree with the delicious part. A lot of restaurants where I lived in China (south, near Hong Kong) served Pigeon, and it was REALLY tasty.

    4. Re:Shudder? by slim · · Score: 1

      Yep.

      Pigeon Pie. Not made with the flying rats you see in towns.

    5. Re:Shudder? by a_nonamiss · · Score: 1

      Squab is considered a delicacy around the world, even in the best restaurants in the United States. It's just a fancy name for pigeon.

      --
      -Arthur
      Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
    6. Re:Shudder? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      only americans can be rednecks?

  15. Uncoscionable! by JoeWalsh · · Score: 0

    Human milk is the only ethical milk.

    And it'd be a great way for gals to make a few bucks on the side.

    1. Re:Uncoscionable! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can have ethics or you can have money.

      You can't have both.

      Women will find a way to cheat the system.

      Drugs to increase lactation come to mind with no stress whatsoever on my brain cells.

    2. Re:Uncoscionable! by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      of course, breast don't fully mature nor give milk until later terms of pregnancy. Tell you want, I'll handle the tedious and boring initiating breast maturation part at no expense (if they're nubile and beautiful) and you can do the milk production end of things

    3. Re:Uncoscionable! by gv250 · · Score: 1

      a great way for gals to make a few bucks on the side.

      They moved them?

    4. Re:Uncoscionable! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who cares about the end product of human milk. It is all about original packaging, branding and marketing of the human milk . :)

    5. Re:Uncoscionable! by virgnarus · · Score: 1

      Mammaries are capable of producing milk as soon as a child is born. It's been known of cases where an infant's nipples has leaked milk.

      Breast milk production can be induced through certain supplements and medication that increases hormones, and they can be manually induced to start producing milk. Back in the old day there was such a thing as milk maids midwives who never bore their own children yet were well capable of producing breast milk, all of which was made possible by performing one or more of what has been aforementioned.

      All of this can happen because the breasts operate on a supply-and-demand basis. If the body detects there is a need to produce milk, it will produce the amount of milk to supply the demand, even to activating itself from an otherwise inactive state. Even a man's chest can produce milk when induced and given hormone supplements, as they have the same tissues, glands and whatnot that women have.

    6. Re:Uncoscionable! by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      correct, but of course we want naturally induced mother's milk, we being the insatiable horny-toads of the world

    7. Re:Uncoscionable! by JoeWalsh · · Score: 1

      a great way for gals to make a few bucks on the side.

      They moved them?

      That made me laugh out loud. Nicely done!

      (And also evidence that you need to get out of your mother's basement more.)

    8. Re:Uncoscionable! by BJ_Covert_Action · · Score: 1

      Luckily, like most things in my life, I don't particularly give a damn about ethics when it comes to what I eat. Have fun trying to convince a woman to sell you her breast milk though.

    9. Re:Uncoscionable! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  16. I raise doves by squidflakes · · Score: 4, Informative

    Doves and pigeons are very closely related and some of the few birds that produce crop milk.

    Very specifically, crop milk is the sloughed lining of the interior of the crop. Pigeons and doves will stop eating a few days before they lay and fill their crops with seeds, insects, and sometimes fruits or berries. They will keep these foods items in the crop, grinding them over and over with the gizzard while the skin cells lining the inside of the crop get irritated and engorge with fluid. Once the chicks start feeding, which is very soon after hatching, the cells detach, burst, and mix with the well ground food items.

    The resulting mix smells horrible and is my least favorite part of dealing with my birds.

    So, yeah. Cooing Farms Crop Milk will never find a place in my refrigerator.

    1. Re:I raise doves by snowgirl · · Score: 1

      Neither of the terms "dove" nor "pigeon" are rigorously defined in biology. In colloquial speech even less so.

      --
      WARNING! This girl exceeds the MAXIMUM SAFE standards established by the FDA for BRATTINESS
    2. Re:I raise doves by squidflakes · · Score: 1

      I raise Zenaida asiatica and the crop milk comments apply to all of family Columbidae.

  17. Cow by Mike+Mentalist · · Score: 1

    Drink from the udder
    Doing it with a pigeon
    Makes you shudder

    /going home now

    --
    I put my books on Amazon, Smashwords, Demonoid, ISOHunt and Pirate Bay. Search for 'Michael Cargill'
  18. Simpsons did it. by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 1

    I was promised dog or higher!

    1. Re:Simpsons did it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it was rats.

  19. Um, eeewww! by jbarr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'd rather drink human breast milk. At least the source is more appealing.

    --
    My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
    1. Re:Um, eeewww! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I used to know a guy with the email address of milkman@eroticdairyproducts.com. You wouldn't happen to be him, would you? XD

    2. Re:Um, eeewww! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It tastes nice too.

  20. For suitable definitions of "milk" by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure that the Polytron can "milk" virtually any animal, producing a protein-rich nutrient fluid... Also available in larger and more powerful sizes...

  21. Crop Milk = Fermented rotting pigeon barf by rubycodez · · Score: 1

    Some people in south america eat the shit of animals that feed on certain kind of berries, but come on, we don't have to take every secretion that comes out of an animal and put it in our mouths just because it has protein, fats and carbs in it. You could give a horse a blowjob to completion too and get that.

    1. Re:Crop Milk = Fermented rotting pigeon barf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Some people in south america eat the shit of animals that feed on certain kind of berries, ... and some people with too much money drink coffee made from beans that animals have "pre-digested"
      http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7340005.stm

      What we consider disgusting is cultural. At some point in history someone was hungry enough to try it and now eating pig is not considered strange but eating horse is in many countries.

    2. Re:Crop Milk = Fermented rotting pigeon barf by EdIII · · Score: 1

      You could give a horse a blowjob to completion

      LOL.

      As opposed to what? Just teasing the horse? I'm pretty sure if you broke through whatever mental and social barriers there are to blowing a horse you are going to do it to "completion".

    3. Re:Crop Milk = Fermented rotting pigeon barf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      lots of you people in north america eat shit daily. You mix it it lard, you dont even know where does it all came from, you use to call it Big Macs.

      Please buddy , don't be SO etnocentric.

      Peace :)

    4. Re:Crop Milk = Fermented rotting pigeon barf by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some people in south america eat the shit of animals that feed on certain kind of berries, but come on, we don't have to take every secretion that comes out of an animal and put it in our mouths just because it has protein, fats and carbs in it. You could give a horse a blowjob to completion too and get that.

      Some people eat US made chicken products, which in general contain about 20% fæces. The crap (pun intended) that is eaten in USA can't be exported to places like EU or Russia with stricter regulations (no traces of fæses is allowed in any food product in EU and Russia don't allow any traces of fæces in food products from animals, they are also much more restrictive then USA when it comes to fæces content in vegetables), but the chicken shit actually increases the nutritional value, mostly by increasing the calcium content, and once deep fried, all pathogens are killed.

      I also guess that you eat chicken period (chicken egg).

      I fail to see why we can't eat more animal secreation then we do now (people in the English speaking world already eat chicken period, drink milk, use rennet (gut juices) to make cheese, and French and Spanish people seem to use just about every secretion and part that come from farm animals in their cooking and at least French cooking is admired worldwide).

      If dove milk taste as bad as it smells, I wouldn't eat it though, but that have nothing to do with where it comes from.

    5. Re:Crop Milk = Fermented rotting pigeon barf by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      idiot, there is no chicken meat that is 20% feces. on the other hand, it is impossible to gut and clean a chicken without parts per million feces. you write like clueless vegetarian (a redundancy)

  22. skim pigeon milk by tverbeek · · Score: 1

    The fact that it's high in fat shouldn't be a problem: just produce a "skim" version of it.

    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
    1. Re:skim pigeon milk by danlock4 · · Score: 1

      The fact that it's high in fat shouldn't be a problem: just produce a "skim" version of it.

      Which leads to P-butter "birdie butter", P-cream, P-cheese, .... think of the marketing potential!

      --
      To .sig or not to .sig, that is the question.
  23. "Pigeon milkers" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Curious - people who race pigeons as a sport are called "duivemelkers" in Dutch (Flemish), which translated to "pigeon milkers". Have we finally discovered their dark secret?

  24. Nintendo were onto something by metamatic · · Score: 1

    In "Animal Crossing", Brewster the barista is a pigeon, and his special coffee contains a dash of pigeon milk.

    --
    GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
  25. Yes. by unity100 · · Score: 1

    There was another species which we havent fucked up in pigeons, and we are now fucking them up too. Good going.

    1. Re:Yes. by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      I take it you have never seen the fancy pigeons that people breed. Some of them are pretty fucked up, but always good for a laugh at the stat fair.

      --
      Time to offend someone
  26. A new milk to consume by nimbius · · Score: 1

    is not what a nation that stands in the midst of an obesity epidemic needs.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  27. Penguins! by dargaud · · Score: 1

    They should do it with emperor penguins (that my own pic), that's the only way they feed their chicks, so you'd gets loads of that stuff. And to add to the 'Eeeew factor', it's bright green !

    --
    Non-Linux Penguins ?
  28. I'm Appalled! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They promised me dog or higher!

  29. Pigeons spread diseases . . . by twoDigitIq · · Score: 0

    and mess up the place. You've seen that! Yeah!

  30. Sweet! by Wingfat · · Score: 1

    As a Bird i welcome this. I have hate cows, cow milk is nasty, just thinking about cow utters and my breakfast is disturbing. Why oh why cant we just milk humas? Plunety of out of work Moms out there that could use the cash. I would rather have that then cow milk. Bird milk sounds good to me though.. Rice Milk and Soy Milk have been good to me and with cooking it is ok. How would butter milk busquets come out with all Bird Milk? Bird Butter.. hmmm maybe i need to jump on that before Land O Lakes does ;-) lol

    1. Re:Sweet! by Anomalyst · · Score: 1

      just thinking about cow utters

      What is so disturbing about Bovine conversations? Some find them udderly rediculus, but rarely disturbing.

      --
      There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
    2. Re:Sweet! by Wingfat · · Score: 1

      have you lived on a farm, near a farm or been to a farm? Have you dismembered a cow/pig? have you seen the blood drained out of them? have you seen what they eat, where they eat? and do you trust some backwards farmer that he fed him good food and not pumped them up with too many hormons?

    3. Re:Sweet! by operagost · · Score: 1

      I don't know; have you seen where your vegetables grow? Do you trust some backwards farmer, that he fertilized them properly and didn't use human waste full of pathogens? Or hormons; are they homosexual, or are they Mormons? Who knows?

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    4. Re:Sweet! by Wingfat · · Score: 1

      thats why i dont get vegetables either ;-0

  31. I have worked in a chocolate factory by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 1

    Holland, Zaandam, were most of the worlds chocolate is processed. At the end of the process molten chocolate is stored in large vats, sometimes somebody taking samples forgets to close the tap or it is filled while open and it poors onto the floor. The floor everybody walks on and where dead bugs collect. But chocolate is expensive so what do you do with the spilled chocolate? Scoop it back up and poor it back into the system, dead bugs and all.

    Enjoy your chocolate turd with real crunchy bits.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

    1. Re:I have worked in a chocolate factory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, Verkade, hm lekker. ;) A friend of mine once worked at a nearby grated cheese factory where they did pretty much the same thing. (Only with cheese, not chocolate.)

    2. Re:I have worked in a chocolate factory by operagost · · Score: 1

      I guess the dirt and bugs are what make that European chocolate so superior.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    3. Re:I have worked in a chocolate factory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This kind of thing happens with all processed food. There are ground up bug parts and rat turds in every box of cereal, package of ground meat, and bottle of wine you consume.

  32. Boosting Immune System? by BoRegardless · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why and under what conditions would you want your immune system response to go up?

    Overactive immune systems do kill people. Inflammation is often an overactive immune system in action. In the lungs it can lead to quick massive pneumonia with aggressive flu virus.

    Just exactly how would a person know if their immune system is already "too high"?

    The media overuse of the marketing phrase "improved immune system" does a disservice to average consumers.

  33. In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Semen is high in protein!

    But you won't catch me drinking that! My wife, on the other hand...

  34. Yorkshire slang by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Yorkshire "pigeon milk" is sterilized milk.
    I never knew that pigeons really lactate.
    I suppose the old "pigeon fanciers" coined the phrase.

    1. Re:Yorkshire slang by danlock4 · · Score: 1

      Mike Tyson former heavyweight boxing champion is a lifelong Pigeon Fancier.

      --
      To .sig or not to .sig, that is the question.
  35. sane and rational? by danlock4 · · Score: 1

    "The idea of drinking pigeon milk may bring a shudder to every sane and rational person in the world[...]"

    Or maybe it's just the insane and irrational people in the world who shudder when thinking of drinking pigeon milk. What does that quotation imply about its author?

    --
    To .sig or not to .sig, that is the question.
  36. It's ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I've heard it tastes like chicken milk.

  37. I can see the slogans flying now... by CCarrot · · Score: 1

    "Pigeon...the other white milk!"

    After all, they're going to have to work pretty damn hard to get anybody to buy this crap, er, I mean crop.

    --
    "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
  38. Define "milk" by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    Last time I looked, "milk" was liquid secreted by blood-fed specialized glands for the nurishment of offspring.

    Mamals happen to use glands on their chests that apparently evolved from sweat or scent glands.

    Looks like birds, such as pigeons, use glands in their digestive tract that evolved from saliva or other digestive enzyme emitting glands (judging by the location).

    In both cases the secretion is nourishing and white (no doubt due to the calcium content).

    Looks like "pigeon milk" is "milk" by that definition.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  39. Again, why the Idle? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is it that completely legit science is always thrown in idle, yet simple "chit-chat" between businesses is TOP NEWS FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT?
    Is it because it sounds "gross"? Why is it any more or less gross than cows milk? Goats milk? Rats milk?
    Perhaps it is a little weird? Milk drinking in itself was once weird. It still is weird for many, including entire countries that don't go near the stuff. (but drinking has lead to a genetic-level tolerance even in older ages, because why not continue to drink something that is very high in nutrients?)

    This could very well become the Next Big Thing in terms of food for all we know.
    Their "milk" is probably even better than milk we see in typical mammals due to the environments they live around compared to us. (including even rats milk, in fact)

  40. Venusian blurry balls... by mcneely.mike · · Score: 0

    If you're a Venusian, how did you keep from going blind on the trip through space to Earth... NASA wants to know!

    --
    soylentnews.org Go there to enjoy the people!
  41. Sesame Street Milk by dethndrek · · Score: 1

    Bert has told Ernie for years now that a nutritious glass of pigeon milk makes you keep a healthy yellow pallor. However, thinking about it is making me turn a bit green to be honest. Crop Milk indeed.

    --
    -JWR
  42. Favourite Red Dwarf line - "Kryten" by Frobisher · · Score: 1

    Holly: We're a bit short on a few supplies.
    Lister: Like what?
    Holly: Cow's milk. Ran out of that eons ago. Fresh and dehydrated.
    Lister: What kind of milk are we using now?
    Holly: Emergency back-up supply. We're on the dog's milk.
    Lister: Dog's milk?
    Holly: Nothing wrong with dog's milk. Full of goodness, full of vitamins, full of marrowbone jelly. Lasts longer than any other type of milk, dog's milk.
    Lister: Why?
    Holly: No bugger'll drink it. And the advantage of dog's milk is that when it goes off it tastes exactly the same as when it's fresh.
    Lister: Why didn't you tell me, Hol?
    Holly: What, and spoil your tea?

  43. This is the reason... by otaku244 · · Score: 1

    ... we haven't cured cancer or AIDS... built flying cars or gotten 100 mpg on gasonline.
    A far more impressive headline: "Discovery Brings us One Step Closer to driving 100 miles on one Pigeon."

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    Mod me down, I shall become more off-topic than you could possibly imagine.
  44. Jurassic Park + "milking" pigeon = Profit!!! by BLToday · · Score: 1

    If birds come from dinosaurs, and we can activate a gene in birds for milking. Then once we create a dinosaur from recovered DNA, we can start milking dinos. Think of the economy of scale. Instead of 10,000 birds, you'll only need like 10 dino for the same level of milk production.

    I can't wait for my all dino breakfast:
    1) velociraptor bacon (in place of turkey bacon)
    2) t-rex sausage
    3) Brontosaurus milk

  45. Crunchy Frog by slagheap · · Score: 1

    Mr. Hilton: ...and garnished with lark's vomit.
    Inspector: LARK'S VOMIT?!
    Mr. Hilton: Correct.
    Inspector: It doesn't say anything here about Lark's vomit!
    Mr. Hilton: Uh, it does at the bottom of the label, after monosodium glutamate.
    Inspector: I hardly think that's good enough! I think it would be more appropriate if the box wore a big red label "WARNING: LARK'S VOMIT"!

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    First against the wall when the revolution comes
  46. Wait, I thought Pigeons were part rat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You know, a pigeon is a cross between a parakeet and a rat.

  47. Two Birds, One Stone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How about we start milking Women. It's easier to pump, there's more of it and some will argue it's healthier/more natural. And instead of having to feed & raise animals, you just have to pay people like a sperm donor. It will help with the unemployment problem.

  48. Focker says by bsv368 · · Score: 1

    "Oh you can milk just about anything that has a nipple."

  49. Convertible owner's bargain... by Shoten · · Score: 1

    Tell you what...let's make a deal...

    I'll drink the pigeon milk, if I can milk the pigeons by kicking the hell out of them. Deal?

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    For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
  50. Suppose this becomes a business by pdxChris · · Score: 1

    Would you like to live next to a pigeon dairy? Would that be better or worse than living next to a cow dairy? I lived just up from a cow dairy a few years ago. At least the cows didn't fly up to my house, pooping all the way.