Routledge Liquid Materialities - History of Milk and Science

Explore the complex history of one of our most fundamental food sources. In Liquid Materialities: A History of Milk, Science and the Law, Peter Atkins examines how milk has been both revered and ignored throughout history. This book traces the long struggle to bring milk under control, looking at how humans attempted to purify it of disease and standardize its fat content to meet specific needs. As a part of the Critical Food Studies series, this work follows two centuries of food history. It investigates the tension between natural products and the ordering of science, specifically focusing on the material resistance of milk. You will learn how efforts to manipulate its naturally variable composition helped redraw the boundaries between nature and society. This text is an essential read for those interested in the history of science, food studies, and the legal and social dimensions of what we consume. It provides a deep look at the stuff within foodstuffs and how scientific and legal frameworks attempt to manage the natural world.