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food / travel

Super Rich In China Drink Human Milk As Status Symbol

SOUTHERN URBAN DAILY, CNTV( China)

Worldcrunch

SHENZHEN - Magical elixir for those suffering? Status symbol for China's super rich? Or just plain...CREEPY!?

The Southern Urban Daily was the first to report on the growing popularity among wealthy Chinese for drinking human milk.

"Human milk is the best of tonics, it's even better than bird's nest soup, especially after a major surgery," said Lin Jun, who owns an agency providing domestic services in the booming southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, which distributes the product.

Lin's idea for the business came from the fact that only the elite few can afford to hire a wet nurse for their babies, which he believed meant that those priveleged few adults might want some for themselves. The demand is far beyond his original expectation, he boasted to Southern Urban Daily.

[rebelmouse-image 27087101 alt="""" original_size="500x375" expand=1]

A standard breast pump (planet_oleary)

"If necessary, one can have the breast-feeding directly from the nanny too,"" Lin also claimed, "As long as people are willing to pay, nannies rarely oppose the idea."

According to the report, people with high incomes, intense work pressure and poor physical fitness are his main clients. They try to rebuild themselves with good nutrition and are increasingly convinced that human milk is the best for your health.

While a wet nurse destined to service a newborn is cheaper, the ones aimed to serve adults ask a monthly salary of around $2600. Healthy and good-looking young nannies cost even more.

The China Net Television reported that in fact drinking human milk isn’t popular just among convalescents but also among wealthy ordinary families in the coastal areas.

Wang Bin hired a wet nurse for a while last year. He is the sales director of a big company. Because of his long working hours he very often felt exhausted. A friend from Hong Kong told him human milk would help because it’s very nutritious. “I felt very uneasy with the idea in the beginning”, Wang said. Finally his wife agreed to the idea and Wang tried it out for a month. The woman stayed at their home. Each morning she’d pump her milk out and leave it on the dining table. Wang drank 3 to 5 times per day and 500-800 mililiters each time.

These reports have aroused a major buzz on China’s Internet in the past two days. “Pervert” is the reaction of many.

As to whether the human milk is so magical, Zhang Maoxiang, the director of the nutrition department of a hospital in Shenzhen stated that “For adults, the nutrients from their daily intake of food are enough. Human milk doesn’t have any obvious effect on adults. Paying a fortune to have a wet nurse’s service is obviously overdone.”

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

The Russian Orthodox Church Has A Kremlin Spy Network — And Now It's Spreading Abroad

The Russian Orthodox Church has long supported Russia’s ongoing war effort in Ukraine. Now, clergy members in other countries are suspected of collaborating with and recruiting for Russian security forces.

Photo of Russian soldiers during mass at an Orthodox church in Moscow.

Russian soldiers during mass at an Orthodox church in Moscow.

Wiktoria Bielaszyn

WARSAW — Several countries have accused members of the Russian Orthodox clergy of collaborating with Russian security services, pushing Kremlin policy inside the church and even recruiting spies from within.

On Sept. 21, Bulgaria deported Russian Archimandrite Vassian, guardian of the Orthodox parish in Sofia, along with two Belarusian priests. In a press release, the Bulgarian national security agency says that clergy were deported because they posed a threat to national security. "The measures were taken due to their actions against the security and interests of the Republic of Bulgaria," Bulgarian authorities wrote in a statement, according to Radio Svoboda.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

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These reports were also confirmed by Russia's ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, who told Russian state news agency TASS that the priests must leave Bulgaria within 24 hours. “After being declared persona non grata, Wassian and the other two clerics were taken home under police supervision to pack up their belongings. Then they will be taken to the border with Serbia" she said.

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