Dr. Veronica Sau-Wa Mak (Hong Kong Shue Yan University)

China, where most people are known to be lactase impersistent, now becomes the second largest dairy market after the US. Contrary to the popular stereotype about traditional Chinese cuisine being dairy free, this lecture will show that the water buffalo cheese and milk products have been part of the food system of Guangdong for centuries, though these indigenous milk products have been gradually replaced by western cow’s milk. This lecture will also challenge the common belief that the surge in cow’s milk consumption in China is a sign indicating westernization of Chinese diet. Chinese medical knowledge has been used to design and promote western cow’s milk in China. At the same time, the culture of milk consumption in China today has been shaped by modern nutrition science, traditional Chinese medical practices, economic reform and China’s modernization project, showing how science, material culture, social and political rules are linked.