World where a pathogen got released or mutated that causes most women who catch it to start lactating at a rate of a dairy cow. No changes to the minds, its become wide spread and now the world is starting a new industry by necessity to help deal with the excess breast milk and the need for lots of pumps. I thought it would be interesting and something new, most if not all stories along these lines always have them turning into mindless bimbos or cattle.
If they live in Seattle, and they start to spell it with C rather than Sea, then they are from C attle and have become cattle.
World where a pathogen got released or mutated that causes most women who catch it to start lactating at a rate of a dairy cow.
Biologically, a human woman could only lactate at the rate of a feeding mother.
Lactating wives used to feature in 'Arlene and Jeff' by RoustWriter but seems to have gone the same way as the smoking fetish.
AJ
Biologically, a human woman could only lactate at the rate of a feeding mother.
Unless an outside force alters her biology. Which is exactly what the OP posited.
I thought the OP posited a pathogen.
A pathogen doesn't qualify as an outside force?
A pathogen doesn't qualify as an outside force?
A pathogen is indeed an outside force and could conceivably disrupt an endocrine system sufficiently to fool a body into thinking it needs to lactate, but human biology does not allow a body to produce milk at the same rate as a dairy cow.
A dairy cow typically produces an average of 28 litres a day, with a maximum of about 60 litres. Human women have been recorded as producing as much as 3 litres a day, for example when breastfeeding triplets.
AJ
A pathogen is indeed an outside force and could conceivably disrupt an endocrine system sufficiently to fool a body into thinking it needs to lactate, but human biology does not allow a body to produce milk at the same rate as a dairy cow.
There are viruses in the real world out there that can permanently alter the host's DNA under the right (or wrong depending on perspective) conditions.
While such a pathogen as the OP posits is exceedingly unlikely to develop naturally in the real world, positing a pathogen that makes much more fundamental changes to the host organism's biology than simply triggering lactation would not be beyond the pale for a fictional story.
That it might work isn't just exceedingly unlikely, it's biologically impossible.
Still, as a handwavium premise for a lactation-fetish story, I don't think the readership would complain too much. Otherwise we'd never have werewolf stories ;-)
AJ
That it might work isn't just exceedingly unlikely, it's biologically impossible.
To actually hit 28 liters per day output you are probably correct.
But doubling or tripling normal human lactation output would probably be possible with the right genetic changes.
By the way, what I was calling exceedingly unlikely was not a pathogen that would meet the OP's specifications but one that would increase human lactation output to any degree developing naturally.
Still, as a handwavium premise for a lactation-fetish story,
FWIW, cow-girls appear in The Runesmith Chronicles: Lord of the Glass Desert by BluDraygn.
Posting seems to have stalled recently and I can't remember whether any lactation was involved.
AJ
Dairy cows are also 10 to 20 times the weight of a human female. 1400 to 2000 pounds. Assuming a 15 times size modifier, and an average of 4 liters per woman per day, (since the original poster specified increased volume) that would be the equivalent of 60 liters, on a pound for pound basis.
2 billion or so women (over the age of puberty and pre-menopausal)[not to mention at least age 14 ;-) ] would result in 8 billion liters of mother's milk per day.
Of course, some women don't like pumps. Someone needs to come up with a new business model. Starsucks anyone? After all, breastfeeding in public is becoming increasingly acceptable. Ooh! Actual stars for grand openings. Male celebs for suckered, and female celebs for suckees)
Hmm. Forget kissing babies for politicians. Relieve the pressure of your constituents.