Olympians use the same medtech as you
How do you stop the next pandemic?
PPE, public health messaging, immunology research, vaccines—you name it. But what about food?
As avian influenza spreads amongst mammals and has even infected a few humans, fear is rising around the North American commercial milk supply. Experts say pasteurized milk is safe, but there’s still a risk for exposed dairy farmers.
Responding to these concerns—and the other deleterious health effects of industrial dairy farming—genetic engineers have tackled this question: Do you need cows to make milk?
Enter bioengineered milk.
As with widespread fears around GMO produce, I can already imagine the discourse should this kind of milk hit the market. Backlash to the “unnatural” is rampant when it comes to the food supply. On the flip side, for example, the most unadulterated, unpasteurized “natural” form of milk can pose lots of unnecessary danger for humans.
However, as medical innovators, we deal with bringing the “unnatural” and the “natural” together every day, by:
- Expanding human life spans with medical devices and surgical tools
- Improving quality of life with assistive products
- Enabling reproduction with IVF and other artificial reproductive technologies (ARTs)
We’ve seen firsthand how attitudes change. How people get used to innovations, especially when they see the positive impact. The widespread acceptance of, for example, ARTs are a perfect example of that.
It all comes down to comfort with change and growing trust, two issues as core to the medical profession as the white coat and stethoscope.
As science communicators and advocates of medical innovation, growing trust in science—though some of it may sound outlandish—is our duty.
I, for one, will be interested in trying cow-free milk. What about you?
