Human breast milk from a cow? The cows were shocked too.

A dairy farm in China claims to have successfully genetically modified cows so that they produce human breast milk. If government approval is granted, the cow-produced “human” milk could be on supermarket shelves in China in three years. Maybe the breast milk ice cream shop was on to something.

If the genetically modified milk gets the stamp of approval, it will likely spark plenty of debate surrounding genetically modified food in general, and where the line is when it comes to ethics.

We were (and still are) admittedly a bit turned off by the prospect of eating something made from human breast milk, but the reality is that humans are the only animals who drink milk from another animal. And that’s something that’s not lost on nature. If you look at the rise of lactose-free dairy products and soy milk on store shelves, it’s no secret that not all humans are equipped to properly digest cow’s milk. Meaning that even if it seems weird, reaching for a bowl of breast milk ice cream is probably more natural than reaching for a pint of cow’s milk ice cream.

While that might be the case, milking women like cows is unlikely to gain popularity outside of a fetish community or two, meaning even if you are willing to splash breast milk on your cereal your options for finding a gallon are pretty limited.

Consider that China has a billion people to feed, and that a certain portion of those people might not be able to digest cow’s milk, and it becomes a little easier to understand why someone has undertaken this little experiment in the first place. Throw in the fact that many Chinese parents haven’t forgotten the tainted formula scandal that led to a formula manufacturer being sentenced to death (the plastic laced formula killed some of the babies who drank it), and there’s definitely a market.

Is the milk safe for human consumption? Presumably that’s what Chinese officials are testing for. Is it really human breast milk? Scientifically, this hasn’t been proven, so it’s difficult to say if the milk really is identical to what a child would get from a nursing mother. Let’s say it is; the bigger question is if enough consumers would be willing to put their initial reactions aside for farmers to milk the genetically modified food opportunity.

We’d call the Bacon of the Month clubs crazy, but with everything from bacon-flavored drink syrup to bacon chocolate (vegetarian, even), they’re probably more savvy than silly.

So while the “Bacon is Meat Candy” Bacon of the Month Club offered by Bacon Freak isn’t surprising, we have to say the price is, and certainly hints at a fanbase that goes beyond your casual supermarket enthusiast. For $475.95, you can get 12 months of gourmet bacon delivered directly to your door.

That’s a little more than $39 for two packages of gourmet bacon each month. Flavor rubs include cajun, apple cinnamon, jalapeno, honey BBQ, maple, brown sugar, vanilla bourbon, sun dried tomato and pepper – and a free t-shirt. For $80, you can add a Pancake of the Month subscription, and we assume suggestions on which pancake compliments which bacon flavor. As a bonus, if you’re a naked chef the Bacon Freak website advertises that their bacon “doesnâ€t shrink, it doesnâ€t splatter and when you cook a pound of bacon, you get a pound of bacon. That is why our Bacon Freak Bacon is the only bacon you can fry naked.”

We won’t go as far as calling bacon and pancakes the new wine and cheese, but creative chefs are finding that bacon is, well, bringing in the bacon. Inc reports that Rocco Loosbrock, who actually started the bacon club as a companion to a wine of the month club, found such success with the bacon that it eventually outpaced wine sales. Candied bacon macarons were a best seller for Macaron Parlour and we previously reported that Chocomize’s vegetarian bacon was one of their most frequently requested ingredients.

Tasty as it may be, and as much as macarons could make us love almost anything, for close to $500 we can think of other things to spend the money on, and chances are they’d leave you looking better naked in the long run anyway.

Entrepreneur James Nash has come up with an inventive idea to help make reaching for that glass of vino more convenient.

Nash came up with a line of single-serving cups of wine when he identified the trouble people face when they want to enjoy a glass of wine but have to buy a bottle, and have a wine key readily available to do so. His M&S Le Froglet line of wine in plastic cups for British supermarket Marks & Spencer with peel-off lids was the perfect solution to this problem.

It was slow going for Nash when he first introduced his product, as most people were pessimistic shoppers would be open to the idea.

It seems the tide has turned for the inventor, as stores are seeing excitement, anticipation and curiosity for his featured French Shiraz, Rose and Chardonnay. Wineries who have picked up Nash’s product commented on its potential success saying, “Judging by the buzz in the shop I suspect that these may well be a hit, they look so off the wall that curiosity will force a purchase and then good old bourgeois convenience will take over. This is a new idea, and what it does have is the ability to do is to give the consumer a realistic portion and a more manageable drinking quantity which saves you spoiling a whole bottle for a glass.”

Obviously this concept does “change the perception of wine, but could also make a ‘ready meal for one’ a richer experience.” {Daily Mail}

Having never seen anything quite like this, we think it may be a trend that spreads. In a world of convenience, wine lovers may be ditching the corkscrew and peeling back their plastic lids instead. But whether it can win over proud wine snobs, who consider breaking open a bottle of Bordeaux superior to pulling the tab back on a can of beer, remains to be seen.

Tell us what you think about single-serve wine by the cup: does it take some of the integrity out of a fine bottle of wine, or is it just a smart idea for consumer’s fast-paced, ‘results now’ society?