Untouched by human hands: making and marketing milk in Singapore, 1900–2007

Singaporeans have long enjoyed regular consumption of milk. As a city-state with limited land and water resources, Singapore has always relied on international trade to feed its populace. The story of milk production as largely happening elsewhere is thus not the exception; it is the rule. The experiences of Singapore – engaging with technological innovation and processing, sourcing milk from many nations with the ensuing negotiation of long supply chains, and consequent need to reassure consumers of the quality of the product – mean Singapore provides a historical example with startling relevance. The sustained presence of milk in Singapore is reflected in more than a century of advertising which has been remarkably consistent in relying on safety, purity and country of origin to sell milk to Singaporean consumers.