Among China’s wealthy, human breast milk has emerged as the latest delicacy, with an increasing number of companies providing wet nurses for adults.
A domestic staff agency in Shenzhen, known as Xinxinyu, offers adult clients the option to drink directly through breastfeeding or, should they feel embarrassed, via a breast pump.
Wet nurses catering to adults earn about 16,000 yuan ($2,800) a month, which is four times the Chinese average, and those deemed ‘healthy and good looking’ may command even higher wages, according to company owner Lin Jun.
There are beliefs held in certain regions of the country that human breast milk provides the easiest and most digestible nutrition, especially for the ill.
Nonetheless, this peculiar trend has ignited outrage and disgust among internet users, many of whom label the practice as unethical.
An online poll revealed that 90 percent of participants opposed the service, asserting it ‘violated ethical values,’ whereas only ten percent viewed it as ‘normal business practice.’
Cao Baoyin, a commentator in Chinese media, remarked: ‘This contributes to China’s issue of treating women as consumer goods and reflects the moral degradation of the wealthy in China.’
There were approximately 140,000 posts discussing the subject on Sina Weibo, China’s counterpart to Twitter.
Weibo user Ricky Gao compared consuming human breast milk to ‘pornography’, noting, ‘people become perverts when they are excessively rich and grow weary of other forms of entertainment.’
Conversely, Xiao Shuai stated: ‘It’s merely business. Ethics tend to be overlooked when money is involved.’
In another development, Xinxinyu has been instructed to cease its operations as its business license was revoked after failing to complete three years of annual checks.
Regulators specified that the suspension did not stem from the wet nurse service offered to adults.
