Why milk is never just milk: new BBC Ideas film explores the hidden politics of an everyday drink
16 September 2026
Milk is one of the most familiar foods in our lives. Our first food, it has a long association with health and home. Conversations about milk easily trigger childhood memories and everyday routines.
But how much do we really know about the history, politics and industry that nestle inside a glass of milk?
"Five surprising things you probably didn’t know about milk", the new 5-minutes film that we have co-produced with BBC Ideas, explores how something seemingly so ordinary can reveal much bigger stories about human evolution, industrialisation, colonialism, language, animal relationships and the future of food.
The film is produced as part of Oxford’s Social Sciences Division’s ongoing partnership with BBC Ideas, which brings academic research to new audiences through short, accessible films exploring surprising and thought-provoking ideas.
Five surprising things you probably didn’t know about milk
The film features Dr JC Niala, Deputy Director and Head of Research, Teaching and Collections at the University of Oxford’s History of Science Museum, and Dr Johanna Zetterström-Sharp, Associate Professor in Heritage Studies at UCL’s Institute of Archaeology.
Drawing on their AHRC-funded research project, Milking It! Colonialism, heritage and everyday engagement with dairy, the pair challenge some of the assumptions that have made milk seem such a natural and uncomplicated part of everyday life.
Discussing the film's content, JC Niala and Johanna Zetterström-Sharp said: “Milk is so familiar that it can feel almost outside politics. It is our first food and something that is associated with childhood, care, health and home. But that familiarity can conceal a much more complicated story. Once you look closely at a glass of milk, you find histories of evolution, language and industrialisation. What we hope the film does is make people look again at something they thought they already knew.”
BBC Ideas produces a variety of thought-provoking short films and videos aimed at a general audience of under-35s that are designed to offer a fresh perspective across a broad range of topics and issues. The films we have produced in partnership can be watched on the BBC Ideas partnership page.