from it, and sheep and goats were born
from it.
— The Rg Veda, Book 10, ca. 1200 BCE
...I am come down to deliver [my people]
out of the hands of the Egyptians, and to
bring them up out of that land unto a good
land and a large, unto a land flowing with
milk and honey....
— God to Moses on Mount Horeb (Exodus
3:8)
Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and
curdled me like cheese?
— Job to God (Job 10:10)The Rise of the Ruminants
All mammals produce milk for their young,
but only a closely related handful have been
exploited by humans. Cattle, water buffalo,
sheep, goats, camels, yaks: these suppliers of
plenty were created by a scarcity of food.