This week Cutting the Curd is continuing its series on cheese and art. Host Greg Blais and co-host Emily Acosta delve into the interesting topic of breast milk cheese with artist Miriam Simun, who has personal experience in this realm. Having started the human cheese project in order to provoke a space for discourse around norms and practices with regard to human exceptionalism, food production, emerging bioavailabilities, and the commodification of bodies, Miriam brings up many questions surrounding the topic that remain to be answered. She goes on to explain how she went about completing the human cheese project with recruiting volunteers to provide necessary ingredients, the actual cheese-making process and the ethics considered with the project. This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“We like to think of food as coming straight from the ground, unadulterated in any way, but on the other hand steak is in a little box where it’s totally removed from the animal part where it came from.” [8:55]

“To me, good art asks good questions and that’s where I was coming from when I was making it.” [18:53]

“I think the world would be a better place if more people saw their cheese as a piece of art.” [20:28]

—Miriam Simun on Cutting the Curd